The aim of the atlas is to provide images of taphonomic modifications,
making it as comprehensive as possible with evidence presently
available. This volume is intended both as a field guide for identifying
taphonomic modifications in the field, and for use in the laboratory
when collections of fossils are being analyzed. Images in the book are a
combination of scanning electron micrographs, regular photographs,
cross-sections of bones and line drawings and graphs. By providing good
quality illustrations of taphonomic modifications, with links between
similar types of modification, the atlas provides a reference source for
identifying the agents responsible for the modifications, the processes
by which they were formed, and the potential bias introduced by the
processes.
The authors also aim to emphasize on the directions they consider
taphonomic studies should be headed. Firstly, we should seek to quantify
the degree of bias introduced into a fossil fauna and to take account of
this bias before interpreting the palaeoecology of the fossil site.
Secondly, we should recognize that taphonomic modifications increase the
information encoded in fossils by identifying perimortem and
postmortem contexts. This provides a more dynamic and realistic view
of the past.