Recovery, Analysis, and Identification of Commingled Human Remains

Recovery, Analysis, and Identification of Commingled Human Remains
Author: Bradley J. Adams
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 377
Release: 2008-02-23
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1597453161

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.

Commingled and Disarticulated Human Remains

Commingled and Disarticulated Human Remains
Author: Anna J. Osterholtz
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2013-08-15
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1461475600

​Commingled and Disarticulated Human Remains:Working Toward Improved Theory, Method, and Data brings together research that provides innovative methodologies for the analysis of commingled human remains. It has temporal and spatial breadth, with case studies coming from pre-state to historic periods, as well as from both the New and Old World. Highlights of this volume include: standardizes methods and presents best practices in the field using a case study approach demonstrates how data gathered from commingled human remains can be incorporated into the overall interpretation of a site explores best way to formulate population size, using commingled remains Field archaeologists, bioarchaeologists, academic anthropologists, forensic anthropologists, zoo archaeologists, and students of anthropology and archaeology will find this to be an invaluable resource.

The Analysis of Burned Human Remains

The Analysis of Burned Human Remains
Author: Christopher W. Schmidt
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 313
Release: 2011-10-10
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 008055928X

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

Forensic Genetic Approaches for Identification of Human Skeletal Remains

Forensic Genetic Approaches for Identification of Human Skeletal Remains
Author: Angie Ambers
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 628
Release: 2022-11-15
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0128163690

Forensic Genetic Approaches for Identification of Human Skeletal Remains: Challenges, Best Practices, and Emerging Technologies provides best practices on processing bone samples for DNA testing. The book outlines forensic genetics tools that are available for the identification of skeletal remains in contemporary casework and historical/archaeological investigations. Although the book focuses primarily on the use of DNA for direct identification or kinship analyses, it also highlights complementary disciplines often used in concert with genetic data to make positive identifications, such as forensic anthropology, forensic odontology, and forensic art/sculpting. Unidentified human remains are often associated with tragic events, such as fires, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, war conflicts, genocide, airline crashes, homicide, and human rights violations under oppressive totalitarian regimes. In these situations, extensive damage to soft tissues often precludes the use of such biological samples in the identification process. In contrast, bone material is the most resilient, viable sample type for DNA testing. DNA recovered from bone often is degraded and in low quantities due to the effects of human decomposition, environmental exposure, and the passage of time. The complexities of bone microstructure and its rigid nature make skeletal remains one of the most challenging sample types for DNA testing. Provides best practices on processing bone samples for DNA testing Presents detailed coverage of proper facilities design for skeletal remains processing, selection of optimal skeletal elements for DNA recovery, specialized equipment needed, preparation and cleaning of bone samples for DNA extraction, and more Highlights complementary disciplines often used in concert with genetic data to make positive identifications, such as forensic anthropology, forensic odontology, and forensic art/sculpting

Osteoarchaeology

Osteoarchaeology
Author: Efthymia Nikita
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 464
Release: 2016-12-22
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0128040971

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 of Human Remains

Taphonomy of Human Remains
Author: Eline M. J. Schotsmans
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 546
Release: 2017-04-17
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1118953320

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

Necropolitics

Necropolitics
Author: Francisco Ferrandiz
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
Total Pages: 280
Release: 2015-07-24
Genre: History
ISBN: 0812247205

This remarkable book demonstrates through in-depth case studies from ten countries around the world how the forensic exhumation of mass graves is inextricably intertwined with grassroots initiatives, national political developments, international human rights advocacy, and transnational claims of transitional justice.

Forensic Science and Humanitarian Action

Forensic Science and Humanitarian Action
Author: Roberto C. Parra
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 1538
Release: 2020-01-22
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 111948202X

Widens traditional concepts of forensic science to include humanitarian, social, and cultural aspects Using the preservation of the dignity of the deceased as its foundation, Forensic Science and Humanitarian Action: Interacting with the Dead and the Living is a unique examination of the applications of humanitarian forensic science. Spanning two comprehensive volumes, the text is sufficiently detailed for forensic practitioners, yet accessible enough for non-specialists, and discusses both the latest technologies and real-world interactions. Arranged into five sections, this book addresses the ‘management of the dead’ across five major areas in humanitarian forensic science. Volume One presents the first three of these areas: History, Theory, Practice, and Legal Foundation; Basic Forensic Information to Trace Missing Persons; and Stable Isotopes Forensics. Topics covered include: Protection of The Missing and the Dead Under International Law Social, Cultural and Religious Factors in Humanitarian Forensic Science Posthumous Dignity and the Importance in Returning Remains of the Deceased The New Disappeared – Migration and Forensic Science Stable Isotope Analysis in Forensic Anthropology Volume Two covers two further areas of interest: DNA Analysis and the Forensic Identification Process. It concludes with a comprehensive set of case studies focused on identifying the deceased, and finding missing persons from around the globe, including: Forensic Human Identification from an Australian Perspective Skeletal Remains and Identification Processing at the FBI Migrant Deaths along the Texas/Mexico Border Humanitarian Work in Cyprus by The Committee on Missing Persons (CMP) Volcán De Fuego Eruption – Natural Disaster Response from Guatemala Drawing upon a wide range of contributions from respected academics working in the field, Forensic Science and Humanitarian Action is a unique reference for forensic practitioners, communities of humanitarian workers, human rights defenders, and government and non-governmental officials.

Handbook of Forensic Anthropology and Archaeology

Handbook of Forensic Anthropology and Archaeology
Author: Soren Blau
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 739
Release: 2016-07-28
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1315528924

With contributions from 70 experienced practitioners from around the world, this second edition of the authoritative Handbook of Forensic Archaeology and Anthropology provides a solid foundation in both the practical and ethical components of forensic work. The book weaves together the discipline’s historical development; current field methods for analyzing crime, natural disasters, and human atrocities; an array of laboratory techniques; key case studies involving legal, professional, and ethical issues; and ideas about the future of forensic work--all from a global perspective. This fully revised second edition expands the geographic representation of the first edition by including chapters from practitioners in South Africa and Colombia, and adds exciting new chapters on the International Commission on Missing Persons and on forensic work being done to identify victims of the Battle of Fromelles during World War I. The Handbook of Forensic Anthropology and Archaeology provides an updated perspective of the disciplines of forensic archaeology and anthropology.

The Poetics of Processing

The Poetics of Processing
Author: Anna J. Osterholtz
Publisher: University Press of Colorado
Total Pages: 277
Release: 2020-12-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1646420616

In 2002, Neil Whitehead published Dark Shamans: Kanaimà and the Poetics of Violent Death, in which he applied the concept of poetics to the study of violence and observed the power of violence in the creation and expression of identity and social relationships. The Poetics of Processing applies Whitehead’s theory on violence to mortuary and skeletal assemblages in the Andes, Mexico, the US Southwest, Jordan, Ethiopia, Egypt, and Turkey, examining the complex cultural meanings of the manipulation of remains after death. The contributors interpret postmortem treatment of the physical body through a poetics lens, examining body processing as a mechanism for the re-creation of cosmological events and processing’s role in the creation of social memory. They analyze methods of processing and the ways in which the living use the physical body to stratify society and gain power, as evidenced in rituals of body preparation and burial around the world, objects buried with the dead and the hierarchies of tomb occupancy, the dissection of cadavers by medical students, the appropriation of living spaces once occupied by the dead, and the varying treatments of the remains of social outsiders, prisoners of war, and executed persons. The Poetics of Processing combines social theory and bioarchaeology to examine how the living manipulate the bodies of the dead for social purposes. These case studies—ranging from prehistoric to historic and modern and from around the globe—explore this complex material relationship that does not cease with physical death. This volume will be of interest to mortuary archaeologists, bioarchaeologists, and cultural anthropologists. Contributors: Dil Singh Basanti, Roselyn Campbell, Carlina de la Cova, Eric Haanstad, Scott Haddow, Christina Hodge, Christopher Knusel, Kristin Kuckelman, Clark Spencer Larsen, Debra Martin, Kenneth Nystrom, Adrianne Offenbecker, Megan Perry, Marin Pilloud, Beth K. Scaffidi, Mehmet Somel, Kyle D. Waller