The Effect of Repeated Physical Disturbance on Soft Tissue Decomposition—Are Taphonomic Studies an Accurate Reflection of Decomposition?*

Abstract

Although the relationship between decomposition and postmortem interval has been well studied, almost no studies examined the potential effects of physical disturbance occurring as a result of data collection procedures. This study compares physically disturbed rabbit carcasses with a series of undisturbed carcasses to assess the presence and magnitude of any effects resulting from repetitive disturbance. Decomposition was scored using visual assessment of soft tissue changes, and numerical data such as weight loss and carcass temperature were recorded. The effects of disturbance over time on weight loss, carcass temperature, soil pH and decomposition were studied. In addition, this study aimed to validate some of the anecdotal evidence regarding decomposition. Results indicate disturbance significantly inversely affects both weight loss and carcass temperature. No differences were apparent between groups for soil pH change or overall decomposition stage. An insect-mediated mechanism for the disturbance effect is suggested, along with indications as to why this effect may be cancelled when scoring overall decomposition.

Cadaveric volatile organic compounds released by decaying pig carcasses (Sus domesticus L.) in different biotopes

“…We decided to discriminate five major decompositional stages based on different visual criteria adapted from the literature [5,32,[38][39][40][41][42]: (1) fresh, (2) bloated, (3) active decay, (4) advanced decay and (5) dry remains. The decay stages are presented in Table 2.…”

Decomposition Process and Post Mortem Changes: Review

“…It could be challenging for forensic pathologists to use a single stage of decomposition to describe the extent of degradation of a corpse (Adlam & Simmons 2007;Duday & Guillon 2006). It is generally accepted that head and limbs will decompose faster compared to body trunk, mainly because there is a higher concentration of soft tissue to be digested (Braig & Perotti 2009;Matuszewski et al 2008).…”

“…Adlam and Simmons (2007) defined skeletonization in their studies as any one of: only spine was left underneath dried skin accompanied by major loss of intra-abdominal tissue; higher than 50% of bone exposure with minimal moisture; or more than 30% of bones already underwent bleaching and weathering process (Adlam & Simmons 2007). During this stage, only a very few amount of dried skin, tendon and cartilage will present.…”

Cesedin Ayrışma Durumuna Göre Birikmiş Gün Sıcaklıkları ile Postmortem İnterval Tahmini

“…Son yıllarda ise deneysel araştırma-larda İngiltereli bilim insanlarının da yer aldığı görülmek-tedir (49,62,72). Kuzey İngiltere'de Megyesi tarafından geliştirilen yöntem bölgesel özellikler göz önünde bulundurulmadan test edilmiştir.…”

“…PMİ hesaplanmasına ADD ile birlikte TBS kullanılmıştır. ADD değeri kullanılarak oldukça doğru PMİ tahminlerine ulaşılmıştır Çeşitli faktörler, oranlar ve bunların sıralaması ayrış-ma durumunu etkileyebilmektedir (40,48,49). Bu anomaliler nitel ve nicel dekompozisyon çalışmalarını doğrudan etkilemektedir.…”