For human skeletal material specifically, taphonomic processes include the activities of carnivores and rodents (which gnaw on bones for marrow or calcium), weathering processes (which fracture and erode bone surfaces), soil chemistry (which dissolves or preserves mineral components), root action (which marks bone surfaces with distinctive channels and pits), and deliberate human action (both the original burial and any subsequent treatment).

Distinguishing among these processes is essential for interpreting what the physical state of skeletal remains actually means.

The original analysis of the Loch Borralie bones attributed the marks on the remains to animal gnawing — a taphonomic process that would carry no particular significance for the interpretation of the burial beyond noting that the bones had been disturbed by animals after interment.

The COMMIOS team’s re-analysis identified the marks on Individual 1’s skull and long bones as human-made — a taphonomic category that carries enormous interpretive significance, because it indicates deliberate action on the part of people who chose to modify the remains in specific ways.