Faunal assemblage

Faunal Assemblage is the archaeological or paleontological term for a group of associated animal fossils found together in a given stratum.

The principle of faunal succession is used in biostratigraphy to determine each biostratigraphic unit, or biozone. The biostratigraphic unit being a section of geological strata that is defined on the basis of its characteristic fossil taxa or faunal assemblage.

For example, in East Africa, a distinctive group of animal species, mostly pigs, is characteristic of the fossils preserved from a particular period of time. This faunal assemblage has been used effectively to chronologically correlate the East African early hominid sites.