Advances in Forensic Taphonomy

Illustrated with photographs, maps, and other images, this book offers modern techniques for obtaining clues from postmortem evidence. It examines techniques in recovery and analysis, coverage of mass grave investigation, applications of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA techniques, and interpretation of burned human remains.

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The taphonomic approach within paleontology, archaeology, and paleoanthropology continues to produce advances in understanding postmortem biochemical and morphological transformations. Conversely, advances in understanding the early and intermediate postmortem period generated in the forensic realm can and should be brought to the attention of scientists who study the historic and prehistoric past.

Building on the success of Forensic Taphonomy: The Postmortem Fate of Human Remains, Advances in Forensic Taphonomy: Method, Theory, and Archaeological Perspectives presents new and updated techniques. It expands the taphonomic focus on biogeographic context and microenvironments and integrates further the theoretical and methodological links with archaeology and paleontology.

Topics covered include:

Microenvironmental variation and decomposition in different environments

Taphonomic interpretation of water deaths

Mass graves, mass fatalities and war crimes, archaeological and forensic approaches

Updates in geochemical and entomological analysis

Interpretation of burned human remains

Discrimination of trauma from postmortem change

Taphonomic applications at the scene and in the lab

This comprehensive text takes an interdisciplinary and international approach to understanding taphonomic modifications. Liberally illustrated with photographs, maps, and other images, Advances in Forensic Taphonomy: Method, Theory, and Archaeological Perspectives is a valuable source of information for postmortem death investigation.