Introduction to Forensic Taphonomy


Intrinsic Factors
Some of the variation in how a body decomposes is to do with the person. This includes factors such as age-at-death, sex, and the presence of any pathology.For example, as part of the natural ageing process, we lose bone mass with increasing age. This is why elderly people are more likely to sustain broken bones when they fall over. This low bone mass can also affect preservation after death and burial, leading them to decay more quickly.


Factors relating to the assailant
- An open injury can affect the speed of decomposition when a body is buried because the wound provides a means of entry for animals to attack the body.
- If a body has been put in a freezer then this will slow down decomposition (but not completely stop it). If the body then thaws out decomposition will speed up very rapidly.
- If a body is wrapped tightly in plastic prior to burial or disposal, this will slow down decomposition and will hinder animal scavenging of the remains as well as the impact of plants, insects and other disturbance. In fact, new research has shown that this impact can be used by forensic practitioners to preserve bodies where resources are limited.
- If multiple bodies are buried within a single grave then this will have an impact on the decomposition process and will also make the recording and recovery of the skeletons more complicated (we’ll explore this further in Week 6).
- Occasionally, bodies are deposited in very hard to reach areas, such as thrown down a well, or into a crevasse. Doing so not only serves to hide the body well, but it also complicates recovery of the remains (see Week 6 for an example).
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