Forensics, Archaeology, and Taphonomy: The Symbiotic Relationship

Saul, Julie Mather; Saul, Frank P.

doi:10.1201/9781420058352-7

Cited by 11 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 5 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Schmidt and Symes’ (2015) volume on burned human bone offered commingling‐related methods for fire‐modified remains such as the Bab adh‐Dhra’ EB II–III collection, discussing bone and tooth color changes (Beach, Passalacqua, & Chapman, ; Devlin & Herrmann, ; Ullinger & Sheridan, ), thermal breakdown of bone (DeHaan, ; Schurr, Hayes, & Cook, ; Thompson, ), enamel changes (Mahoney & Miszkiewicz, ; Sandholzer, ; Schmidt, ), and site‐specific reconstructions (Curtin, ; McKinley, ; Schmidt et al, ; Wahl, ). Haglund and Sorg's older edited volumes (1997, 2002) provided several taphonomic considerations for studies of commingling (Correia, ; Darwent & Lyman, ; Galloway, ; Haglund, Connor, & Scott, ; Lyman & Fox, ; Roksandic, ; Saul and Saul, ; Ubelaker, ).…”

Section: Commingling Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bioarchaeology in the ancientNearEast: Challenges and future directions for the southern Levant

Sheridan

2017

American J Phys Anthropol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The synthesis of biological anthropology, archaeology, and social theory provides a bioarchaeological model to reconstruct nuanced aspects of demography, diet, disease, death, daily activities, and biodistance, even in the absence of discrete burials. Numerous skeletal assemblages in the southern Levant are composed of mixed and fragmented bones resulting from generational use of cemeteries, mass burial, and additional communal burial practices. Others become commingled due to taphonomic processes such as flooding, geological events, or human mediated mechanisms like looting, improper excavation, and poor curation. Such collections require one to ask broader questions of human adaptability, exercise a holistic approach, use broad demographic categories, and remain cognizant of the limitations posed by fragmentation. Expanded research questions and ethical considerations, the use of centralized databases and understudied collections, as well as the application of social media, citizen science, and crowd sourcing provide new tools for bioarchaeological analyses of the many commingled ancient Near Eastern collections in the southern Levant.

show abstract

Section: Commingling Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bioarchaeology in the ancientNearEast: Challenges and future directions for the southern Levant

Sheridan

2017

American J Phys Anthropol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Taphonomic analyses performed at the laboratory required very specific field data collected with those analyses in mind. In this manner, the new forensic taphonomy volumes included several chapters on forensic archaeology and scene recovery techniques (Dirkmaat 2002;Dirkmaat and Adovasio 1997;Hochrein 2002;Mayne Correia and Beattie 2002;Saul and Saul 2002;Scott and Connor 1997).…”

Section: Taphonomic Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forensic archaeology in the United States

Cabo

Dirkmaat

2015

Forensic Archaeology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…The forensic anthropologist, in their role as an expert in human skeletal remains [e.g. see 7,8], can provide valuable assistance at the scene in identifying the presence of bone fragments in various conditions that may otherwise be unrecognisable to the untrained eye, and distinguishing between human and non-human bone [5,9,10]. Once in the mortuary setting, the forensic anthropologist may work in tandem with the forensic pathologist and forensic odontologist, amongst other specialists both medical and legal, in order to estimate age, sex, stature, and ancestry, and examine unique identifying features that may aid in the identification of the deceased.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Baggage scanners and their use as an imaging resource in mass fatality incidents

2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Disaster victim identification following a mass fatality incident is focussed on identifying the deceased and returning them to their families as quickly as possible, while gathering as much information as practical to aid investigators in establishing the cause of the incident. Ante-mortem data is gathered and compared with the post-mortem data obtained in order to positively identify the deceased. This paper presents results from a study concerned with the first part of the process of identifying the deceased-the triage or Primary Survey and how this can be done without access to hospital facilities such as conventional X-ray imaging or computed tomography. In particular, this study focuses on the imaging undertaken prior to the opening of the body bag by a multidisciplinary team, and how this imaging can assist particularly when forensic anthropologists are involved in the identification process. There are several advantages to imaging the body bags before they are opened and one of the most important is safety. Thus, this paper examines the viability of using a baggage scanner as a practical resource for X-ray imaging, as many regions worldwide may not be able to access conventional imaging equipment. Baggage scanners are readily available and found in airports and various government buildings. The baggage scanner is particularly suited to this task and produces images that can be used by forensic anthropologists to distinguish between human and non-human remains, identify items of evidence and personal effects, and even perform a preliminary or partial biological profile. When considering their response plans, emergency responders should consider including baggage scanners as a contingency for screening body bags if no other imaging system is available.

show abstract

Forensics, Archaeology, and Taphonomy: The Symbiotic Relationship

Cited by 11 publications

References 5 publications

Bioarchaeology in the ancientNearEast: Challenges and future directions for the southern Levant

Bioarchaeology in the ancientNearEast: Challenges and future directions for the southern Levant

Forensic archaeology in the United States

Baggage scanners and their use as an imaging resource in mass fatality incidents

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About