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.
Ancestry determination in the identification of unknown remains can be a challenge for forensic scientists and anthropologists, especially when the remains available for testing are limited. There are various techniques for the assessment of ancestry, ranging from traditional to new microbiological and computer-assisted methods. Biological Affinity in Forensic Identification of Human Skeletal Remains: Beyond Black and White presents a range of tools that can be used to identify the probable socio-cultural "race" category of unknown human remains. Gathering insight from those who have made recent improvements and scientific advances in the field, the book begins with the historical foundations of the concept of biological affinity and the need for increased research into methods for determining ancestry of skeletal remains. The contributors cover a range of topics, including: Ancestry estimation from the skull using morphoscopic and morphometric traits and variables Innovative methods from metric analyses of the postcrania, and new approaches to dental non-metric variation The biological diversity of Hispanic populations and use of discriminant function analysis and 3D-ID software to determine ancestry Methods of age progression and facial reconstructions to create two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) facial composites for missing people The preparation of skeletal remains for DNA extraction and sampling, and mtDNA methods that are available for identification of haplogroups (e.g., ancestral populations) No single method or technique is adequate in the assessment of ancestry. For accurate determinations, the use of traditional and new techniques combined yields better results. This book demonstrates the large repertoire of tools available to those tasked with these challenging determinations.
An essential reference for both forensic experts and non-experts alike, Forensic Recovery of Human Remains: Archaeological Approaches is a comprehensive guide that focuses on the practical aspects of excavating and recovering human remains, along with any associated evidence, from crime scenes. It highlights the protocols and techniques that ar
This electronic version has been made available under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND) open access license. Human remains and identification presents a pioneering investigation into the practices and methodologies used in the search for and exhumation of dead bodies resulting from mass violence. Previously absent from forensic debate, social scientists and historians here confront historical and contemporary exhumations with the application of social context to create an innovative and interdisciplinary dialogue, enlightening the political, social and legal aspects of mass crime and its aftermaths. Through a ground-breaking selection of international case studies, Human remains and identification argues that the emergence of new technologies to facilitate the identification of dead bodies has led to a "forensic turn", normalising exhumations as a method of dealing with human remains en masse. However, are these exhumations always made for legitimate reasons? Multidisciplinary in scope, this book will appeal to readers interested in understanding this crucial phase of mass violence's aftermath, including researchers in history, anthropology, sociology, forensic science, law, politics and modern warfare. The research program leading to this publication has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007-2013) / ERC Grant Agreement n° 283-617.
Intended for those who train and handle cadaver dogs, this book also encompasses information for those who work closely with them, such as police, death investigators, and anthropologists. Its interdisciplinary approach is useful to any member of a forensic team who regularly participates in or evaluates the results of the human remains search effort. Cadaver Dog Handbook sets out the principles and procedures for the training and handling of dogs for the location of human remains. It explains scent theory and its applications, introduces basic training and searching strategies/tactics, and covers the legal and taphonomic issues associated with dog searches. Intended for those who train and handle cadaver dogs, this book also encompasses information for those who work closely with them, such as police, death investigators, and anthropologists. Its interdisciplinary approach is useful to any member of a forensic team who regularly participates in or evaluates the results of the human remains search effort.
A number of well-publicized buried body cases (Cummins Prison Farm in Arkansas-1968; Texas Homosexual Murders of Dean Cor11-1973; and the John Wayne Gacy bodies under the house in Des Plains, Illinois-1978) have pointed to the need for organized efforts in fending and excavating buried human remains. Burial recovery should not be relegated to convicts or other untrained personnel but should be conducted scientifically by the forensic science team. The forensic anthropologist/archaeologist is a key member of this team. This is a theme of Edward W. Killam's reference book, The Detection of Human Remains, which provides a summary of the problems involved in the detection of buried bodies and describes the techniques which can be utilized for their recovery.
"Buzzards and Butterflies is a primer for the canine handler working a human remains detection dog on land or water. This is the text to learn training and search strategies that work for other HRD handlers."--P. [4] of cover.
We all know about the 5 Ws of journalism: who, what, where, when and why. They are basic questions that are also considered when responding to a search. In order to prepare for a search incident, we could also ask ourselves these questions when training and maintaining our dogs. - Who will we be looking for? Male or female, adult or child? - What will we be looking for? Evidence and/or remains? - Where will we be looking? What type of terrain will we be searching in? - When will we be looking? Did the incident just happen, or is it historical? - Why are we looking? Criminal or overdue? These 5 Ws can all be recreated through training. It will keep our minds tuned in to searching and not just setting out sources and running the dog. The proofing and testing, as described in this book, will keep us as a dog team, or the dog teams we train, fluid, and prevent everyone from becoming stagnant. This book was written for the handler or trainer to promote thinking outside the box when preparing the dog team for searching in the field of human-remains detection.
Commingled human remains are encountered in situations ranging from prehistoric ossuaries to recent mass fatality incidents. Commingled Human Remains: Methods in Recovery, Analysis, and Identification brings together tools from diverse sources within the forensic science community to offer a set of comprehensive approaches to resolving issues associated with commingled remains. This edition focuses on forensic situations, although some examples from prehistoric contexts are also addressed. Commingling of bones and other body parts is a major obstacle to individual identification that must be addressed before other forensic determinations or research can proceed. Regardless of the cause for the commingling (transportation disaster, terrorist attack, natural disaster, genocide, etc.) it is critical that the proper experts are involved and that the proper techniques are employed to achieve the greatest success in making identifications. Resolution of commingling nearly always requires consideration of multiple lines of evidence that cross the disciplinary lines of modern forensic science. The use of archaeology, DNA, and forensic anthropology are several areas that are critical in this process and these are core topics presented in this book. Even a relatively “simple mass fatality event can become very complicated once body fragmentation and commingling occur. Expectations associated with all phases of the process from recovery of remains to their final identification and release to next of kin must be managed appropriately. A powerful resource for those working in the forensic sciences who need to plan for and/or address the complex challenges associated with commingled and fragmentary human remains Written by an international group of the foremost forensic scientists presenting their research and candid experiences of dealing with commingled human remains, offering recommendations and providing "lessons learned" which can be invaluable to others who find themselves facing similar challenges Contains chapters on remains recovery, laboratory analysis, case studies, and broader topics such as mass fatality management and ethical considerations
