"The vast majority of bones on the eastern side of Lake Turkana are not eaten
by animals, but are either buried or gradually destroyed by weathering
processes. In the case of Site 20, bones remaining on the surface did not
undergo appreciable decomposition prior to the flood events which buried them.
Had they remaind exposed to the elements for several years, weathering would
have rendered them unidentifiable and, ultimately, would have destroyed them.
Gifford's (1977) study of bone from a 17-year series of dated single
occupation camps in the region indicates that bone on local land surfaces will
endure over 10 and as much as 20 years. On deserted settlements up to 17
years of age, Gifford has noted that subsurface bone is invariably less
decomposed than surface components of the same sample."~Diane P. Gifford and
A. Kay Behrensmeyer, "Observed Formation and Burial of a Recent Human
Occupation Site in Kenya," Quaternary Research, 8: 245-266(1977), p. 258-259
Foundation,Fall and Flood
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