Read more
The Analysis of Burned Human Remains, Second Edition, 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.
List of contents
1. Fire and Bodies
2. Patterned Thermal Destruction in a Forensic Setting
3. Burned Human Teeth
4. Analysis of Human Cremains
5. Thermally Induced Changes
6. Bone Color
7. Time, Temperature and Oxygen Availability
8. Heat-Related Changes in Tooth Color
9. Investigations on Pre-Roman and Roman Cremation Remains
10. In the Heat of Pyre
11. Fire as a Cultural Taphonomic Agent
12. Putting Together the Pieces: Reconstructing Mortuary Practices from Commingled Ossuary Cremains
13. A Taphonomic Analysis of Human Cremains from the Fox Hollow Farm Serial Homicide Site
14. Early Archaic Cremations from Southern Indiana
15. Towards an Archaeology of Cremation
16. An 11,500-year old Human Cremation from Eastern Beringia (Central Alaska)
17. Italian Iron Age cremations
18. The analysis of heat-induced crystallinity change in bone
19. Death and Community Identity in the Trincheras Cremation Cemetery, Sonora, Mexico
20. Formation times in thermally altered enamel
21. Influence of heating regimes on dimensional and colorimetric changes of teeth
22. The Use Of Ethnographic Information In Cremation Studies: A Southeast Asian Example
23. Bone Color Changes in a Burned Burial Structure from Early Bronze Age Bab adh-Dhra', Jordan
About the author
A U.S. forensic anthropologist best known for his expertise in interpreting trauma to bone and a leading authority on saw and knife mark analysis. With 30 years of experience, he has assisted federal, state, local, and international authorities in the identification and analysis of human remains. A sought-after consultant in criminal cases, Dr. Symes has been qualified as an expert for both the prosecution and defense, testifying specifically on forensic tool mark and fracture pattern interpretation in bone, as well as blunt force, ballistic, burned and healing trauma in bone. Certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology and recently retired from the Board of Directors, Dr. Symes has lectured, consulted or testified on trauma cases, among them high-profile human rights cases, in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Peru, El Salvador, Indonesia, Kosovo, South Africa and Europe. In addition, he has authored more than 50 publications and delivered over 100 papers, lectures and workshops on a variety of forensic anthropology topics. He is co-editor of The Analysis of Burned Human Remains, Second Edition published by Elsevier / Academic Press.
Report
"In this significantly updated and expanded second edition, Schmidt and Symes have assembled a group of authoritative contributors who address the complexities of analyzing burned human remains. The technical and methodological components of the book are effectively complemented by provocative case studies of burned bodies that span the ancient world to modern homicides. It represents a definitive reference for students and practitioners of forensic anthropology, taphonomy, field archaeology, bioarchaeology, and criminalistics alike." --Haagen D. Klaus, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Anthropology, George Mason University
"Building on the strong foundation of the first edition, this new volume adds methodological, theoretical, and contextual rigor to the study of burned bone; making it a superb resource for students and professionals alike." --Anne L. Grauer, Ph.D. Professor and Chair, Loyola University Chicago
