A Bibliography Related to Crime Scene Interpretation with ...

Victim's remains affected by decomposition, scavenging, and other taphonomic factorsTaphonomyTaphonomy has been defined as the study of the processes by which animal and plant remainsbecome fossilized. The discipline arose from the work of paleontologists to explain the contexts and conditions offossilized remains. Taphonomy, with its roots in the Greek “taphos” for tomb or burial, and “nomos”-laws, wasadapted by physical anthropologists to explain, and sometimes predict, the condition and contexts of more recentfinds. In this respect, and especially as it applies to forensic situations, taphonomy has come generally to refer to thescience of examining transitions of remains from the biosphere to the lithosphere as impacted by weather, animals,plants, biochemical reactions, and cultural factors. Haglund and Sorg (2002) serves as the most recent compilationof works discussing the various forms those transitions might entail. It represents one source, offered below, whichdemonstrates the multitude of areas currently being researched to explain reasons for, and the results of, particulartransitional events.Because of taphonomy’s roots in paleontology, many of the resources in this section deal exclusively withpaleontological theory and method. It is important for researchers to understand the bases for theories andmethodologies which have come to be applied in forensic settings. Many of the references are historical orprehistoric archaeology site/subject reports. Just as traditional physical anthropology and archaeology drew uponthe earlier work of paleontologists, much current work in forensic taphonomy relies upon discoveries made duringthe exhumation of historic and prehistoric burials. The reader is referred back to the section on "Excavation andRecovery Strategies" for additional archaeological site reports which may contain taphonomy related information.Likewise, “General Crime Scene and Death Scene Investigation” may contain research regarding wound ortrauma analysis and pathology - topics which are inherently taphonomic.This section is divided into the following categories:Decomposition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181Disease and Illness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217Thermal Alteration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230Scavenging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240Sharp, Blunt, Ballistic and Other Trauma . . . . 249Fingerprint and Tattoo Evidence . . . . . . . . . . . 292General and Miscellaneous Topics . . . . . . . . . 295180