Masters Theses

Date of Award

12-1983

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Major

Anthropology

Major Professor

W. M. Bass

Committee Members

Richard Jantz, Patrick Willey

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to observe the last postmortem changes of human bodies in order to determine if the time since death could be predicted by the amount of decay and skeletonization that had occurred. The estimation of how long an individual has been dead is of importance to the forensic anthropologist aiding the law enforcement personnel.

This research was conducted in Knox County, Tennessee, at a facility constructed to allow full exposure of the cadavers to the weather and insects, but without the presence of carnivores. Three cadavers were acquired for this study and the postmortem physical changes which occurred were observed and documented with notes and photographs.

The findings utilizing the three cadavers indicate that the timing and sequence of postmortem changes were too variable to produce an accurate timetable for the prediction of time elapsed since death. It was found that not every cadaver goes through the same decompositional processes as has previously been suggested by Gonzales et al. (1954). Decomposition was observed to occur more rapidly in those cadavers placed at the facility during the warmer months.

It is hoped that the data obtained in this research can be of use to future studies conducted on the human decay rate at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

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