A truly interdisciplinary approach to this core subject within Forensic Science Combines essential theory with practical crime scene work Includes case studies Applicable to all time periods so has relevance for conventional archaeology, prehistory and anthropology Combines points of view from both established practitioners and young researchers to ensure relevance
Links have recently been established between the study of death assemblages by archaeologists and paleontologists (taphonomy) and the application of physical anthropology concepts to the medicolegal investigation of death (forensic anthropology). Forensic Taphonomy explains these links in a broad-based, multidisciplinary volume. It applies taphonomic models in modern forensic contexts and uses forensic cases to extend taphonomic theories. Review articles, case reports, and chapters on methodology round out this book's unique approach to forensic science.
Liberally illustrated with photographs, maps, and other images, Advances in Forensic Taphonomy: Method, Theory, and Archaeological Perspectives offers modern techniques for obtaining clues from postmortem evidence. This bestselling reference examines techniques in recovery and analysis, coverage of mass grave investigation, applications of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA techniques, interpretation of burned human remains, the discrimination of trauma from postmortem change, and taphonomic interpretation of water deaths both at the scene and in the lab. It also discusses microenvironmental variation and decomposition in different environments, as well as geochemical and entomological analysis.
Forensic taphonomy is the study of the postmortem changes to human remains, focusing largely on environmental effects including decomposition in soil and water and interaction with plants, insects, and other animals. While other books have focused on subsets such as forensic botany and entomology, Manual of Forensic Taphonomy is the first update of
This unique reference provides a primary source for osteologists and the medical/legal community for the understanding of burned bone remains in forensic or archaeological contexts. It describes in detail the changes in human bone and soft tissues as a body burns at both the chemical and gross levels and provides an overview of the current procedures in burned bone study. Case studies in forensic and archaeological settings aid those interested in the analysis of burned human bodies, from death scene investigators, to biological anthropologists looking at the recent or ancient dead. - Includes the diagnostic patterning of color changes that give insight to the severity of burning, the positioning of the body, and presence (or absence) of soft tissues during the burning event - Chapters on bones and teeth give step-by-step recommendations for how to study and recognize burned hard tissues
This work is intended as a guide to the various methods for locating human remains. Most of the information is applicable to both archaeological and forensic situations. The intended audience is those who become actively involved in the hunt for human bodies, such as historic and prehistoric archaeologists and the law enforcement community, including coroner or medical examiner investigators and search and rescue teams. It contains guidelines for the investigation of missing person or homicide cases which require comprehensive body search planning. The core is a guide to methods requiring comprehensive body search planning.
Commingling of human remains presents an added challenge to all phases of the forensic process. This book brings together tools from diverse sources within forensic science to offer a set of comprehensive approaches to handling commingled remains. It details the recovery of commingled remains in the field, the use of triage in the assessment of commingling, various analytical techniques for sorting and determining the number of individuals, the role of DNA in the overall process, ethical considerations, and data management. In addition, the book includes case examples that illustrate techniques found to be successful and those that proved problematic.
Osteoarchaeology: A Guide to the Macroscopic Study of Human Skeletal Remains covers the identification of bones and teeth, taphonomy, sex, ancestry assessment, age estimation, the analysis of biodistances, growth patterns and activity markers, and paleopathology. The book aims to familiarize the reader with the main applications of osteoarchaeology and provide the necessary knowledge required for the implementation of a broad range of osteological methods. It is ideal as a complement to existing textbooks used in upper level undergraduate and graduate courses on osteoarchaeology, human osteology, and, to some extent, forensic anthropology. Pedagogical features include ample illustrations, case study material, revision exercises, and a glossary. Additional features comprise macros that facilitate data processing and analysis, as well as an extensive chapter on applied statistics. - 2018 PROSE Awards - Honorable Mention, Textbook/Social Services: Association of American Publishers - Contains coverage of nearly every aspect of human osteological macroscopic analysis - Presents detailed descriptions of the application of different methods - Includes a variety of online resources, including macros designed by the author for the calculation of the number of individuals in commingled assemblages, processing cranial landmarks and nonmetric traits, and more
Taphonomy studies the transition of organic matter from the biosphere into the geological record. It is particularly relevant to zooarchaeologists and paleobiologists, who analyse organic remains in the archaeological record in an attempt to reconstruct hominid subsistence patterns and paleoecological conditions. In this user-friendly, encyclopedic reference volume for students and professionals, R. Lee Lyman, a leading researcher in taphonomy, reviews the wide range of analytical techniques used to solve particular zooarchaeological problems, illustrating these in most cases with appropriate examples. He also covers the history of taphonomic research and its philosophical underpinnings. Logically organised and clearly written, the book is an important update on all previous publications on archaeological faunal remains.
Human bones form the most direct link to understanding how people lived in the past, who they were and where they came from. The interpretative value of human skeletal remains (within their burial context) in terms of past social identity and organisation is awesome, but was, for many years, underexploited by archaeologists. The nineteen papers in this edited volume are an attempt to redress this by marrying the cultural aspects of burial with the anthropology of the deceased.
