Forensic Recovery of Human Remains

Archaeological Approaches
3. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-138-70672-9
Verlag: CRC Press

Buch, Englisch, 320 Seiten, Format (B × H): 210 mm x 280 mm, Gewicht: 890 g

Forensic Recovery of Human Remains: Archaeological Approaches provides a comprehensive and updated guide to the search, recovery, documentation, and excavation of human remains in forensic contexts.

Recognizing that many crime scene and law enforcement personnel lack formal training in archaeological techniques and skeletal biology, this book equips readers with practical methods for processing scenes with skeletal remains and decomposing bodies, while documenting context. Coverage includes new case studies, expanded figures and tables, updated citations, and two new chapters. One chapter now focuses solely on taphonomic modifications, while the final chapter highlights how research has advanced forensic archaeology practice.

While complex scenarios such as mass burials or water recoveries should be handled by specialists, this book prepares readers to manage less complex cases, such as single burials and surface recoveries, competently. It also outlines how professionals can apply proper search and recovery techniques, ensuring that critical evidence is preserved and that forensic investigations are conducted with rigor and accuracy, from field to courtroom.

This third edition serves as an essential resource for undergraduates, graduate students, law enforcement and death scene personnel, forensic anthropology practitioners, and forensic archaeologists.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Schultz, John J.

Williams, Lana J.

Pokines, James T.

Dupras, Tosha L.

Wheeler, Sandra M.

Fachgebiete

• Rechtswissenschaften Strafrecht Rechtsmedizin, Forensik
• Sozialwissenschaften Ethnologie | Volkskunde Ethnologie Physische Anthropologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Alte Geschichte & Archäologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Introduction to Forensic Archaeology 2. Tools and Equipment 3. Human Skeletal Terminology 4. Understanding the Forensic Context 5. Taphonomy 6. Search Techniques for Locating Human Remains 7. Methods of Geophysical Survey 8. Survey and Mapping Methods 9. Collecting Botanical and Entomological Evidence 10. Applying Archaeological Methods in a Forensic Context 11. Collecting Skeletal Remains 12. Writing the Final Report 13. Forensic Archaeology Research and Training

Über Autor(innen)

Tosha L. Dupras, Ph.D. is a professor and Chair of the Department of Anthropology. She received her B.A. in archaeology from Simon Fraser University in 1993, an M.Sc. in Human Biology from the University of Guelph in 1995, and her Ph.D. in Anthropology from McMaster University in 1999. She specializes in reconstruction of diet through chemical means and is associated wiht the Dakhleh Oasis and the Dayr al Barsha projects in Egypt, and the Sai Island project in Sudan where she has excavated in several cemeteries and analyzed many skeletal remains. Dr. Dupras also assists local law enforcement agencies with the search for, excavation, and analysis of human remains. She has published in the American Journal of Anthropology, Journal of Forensic Science, and the Journal of Archaeological Sciences.

John J. Schultz, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in biological anthropology with a specialization in forensic anthropology at the University of Central Florida. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Florida in 2003. His research interests include forensic anthropology, taphonomy, and ground-penetrating radar methods for forensic and archaeological contexts. Recent publications have focussed on teh application of ground-penetrating radar for detecting controlled forensic graves, taphonomy of commercial cremation, and taphonomy of skeletal remains from historic contexts. Dr. Schultz also works with local law enforcement agencies on the search, recovery, and identification of human skeletal remains.

Sandra M. Wheeler, Ph.D. is a Lecturer specializing in bioarchaeology. Dr. Wheller received her Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Western Ontario in 2009. Her current research focuses on the bioarchaeological analysis of infants and children to sheld light on mortuary practices involving the youngest members of society. This research synthesizes information from the social, cultutal, and natural environtments to gain an understanding of children's lives and deaths in the past. Dr. Wheeler also researches ancient birthing practices, maternal heath, growth and development, ancient health and diseas, and mortuary landscapes.

Lana J. Willieams, Ph.D. is a Lecturer specializing in bioarchaeology. She received her Ph.D. in 2008 from University of Western Ontario. She has been a member of the Dakleh Oasis Project in Egypt since 2002, with Katholieke Universiteit Leuven project at Dayr al-Barsha in Egypt since 2006, and also works with various archaeological projects in Europe, the Near East, and Mesoamerica. The focus of Dr. William's research is the understand of the synergistic complexities among biological, social, and physical environments in the past. She focuses particularly on isotopic and elemental analysis of hair, seasonality in fertility and disease, musculoskeletal biomechanics and patterns of activity, and placement of the dead in the physical and social landscapes.