0. Chapter 12: Human Remains
“There is a brief but very informative biography of an individual contained within the skeleton, if you know how to read it…”
—Clyde Snow, Forensic Anthropologist

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The Pathologist
Determines the time of death. This can be done most accurately if the body is found within the first 24 hours of death
Uses certain indicators such as algor, livor and rigor mortis.
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Rigor Mortis
Skeletal muscles partially contract
Joints stiffen, lock in place
Onset is 10 minutes to several hours
Rapid cooling can delay it
Lasts up to 72 hours
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3. Chemistry of Rigor Mortis
Living muscle cells use oxygen to burn glycogen
After death no oxygen— body makes lactic and pyruvic acids
pH falls as acidity increases
Acid promotes a reaction between actin and myosin which work together to contract the muscle
Muscle shortens until all ATP and acetylcholine is used up
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Muscle Contraction
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End of Rigor Mortis
The muscles relax when the body starts to decompose and the fibers begin to break down
Autolysis- Digestive enzymes are released as the cells begin to disintegrate, destroying the muscle fibers
Meat is more tender after rigor mortis has passed (Aged Beef?)
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Rigor Mortis
The rigidity of skeletal muscles after death.
Temperature Stiffness Approximate Time
of body of body Since Death
Warm
Cold
Not stiff
Stiff
Not dead more than 3 hrs
Dead between 3 and 8 hrs
Dead 8 to 30 hours
Dead more than 30 hours
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Livor Mortis
Livor mortis is the settling of blood, resulting in a reddish or purplish color pattern.
Lividity can indicate the position of the body after death. When lividity becomes fixed, then the distribution of the pattern will not change even if the body’s position is altered.
Lividity usually becomes fixed between 10 and 15 hours after death.
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Livor Mortis
Soon after death, blood is still in vessels, so pressure on an area pushes the blood out
As time goes on blood vessels break down as do blood cells and hemoglobin break down pigment moves out into the tissues
Contact pallor is caused by pressure or constrictive clothing prevents blood from pooling locally
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Livor Mortis
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Livor Mortis
After death cells release enzyme (fibrinolysins) that prevents clotting
Blood in body stays liquid after death
Permanently won’t clot minutes after death
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Algor Mortis
Algor mortis is the cooling rate of the body after death. At a crime scene, the body temperature is obtained through:
Rectal temperature
Liver temperature
Glaister equation:
98.4°F - internal temperature/1.5 = hours elapsed since death
Generally the body cools 1 to 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit per hour until it reaches the surrounding temperature.
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Algor Mortis
Body cools by
Radiation
(the higher the body temperature the more heat lost)
Conduction depends on surface contact
faster if in water because enhanced contact
Convection
Wind cools faster
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13. Effects that Influence Algor Mortis
Temperature of the surrounding environment
Type of clothing on the body
Clothing Insulates body from heat loss
Wetness of the clothing
Air movement
Layers of clothing
Size of the individual
Obesity:Fat insulates, temperature falls more slowly
Ratio of surface area to volume: Children, thin people cool faster
In water? Cooling is faster since water is a better conductor of heat than air
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14. Determining Long Post Mortem Intervals
Decomposition occurs in stages
Initial Decay (0-3 days)
Autolysis--body’s own enzymes destroys tissue
Begins immediately
Putrefaction (4-10 days)
Bacteria in gut leak out
Anaerobic conditions
Bloat from hydrogen sulfide, methane, cadaverine, putrescine released
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The Smell of Death
putrescine
cadaverine
Breakdown products from amino acids ornithine and lysine
Amino acid loses CO2
H = white C = turquoise N = blue
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16. Determining Long Post Mortem Intervals
Black Putrefaction (10-20 days)
Body collapses
Liquid seeps into the soil
Butyric Fermentation (20-50 days)
Cheesy smell from butyric acid
Maggots leave
Beetles arrive
Dry decay (beyond 50 days)
Hair is consumed by moths and mites
Bones are left
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17. Longer Term Estimates of Time of Death
Monitoring ratios of body decay products in the soil
Dr. Arpad
Vass, ORNL
The Body Farm
U. Tenn.
The first well controlled experiments to explore decomposition
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18. Volatile Fatty Acid Analysis Results from the Body Farm
Depends on temperature
The hotter, the faster the reactions proceed
Accumulated Degree Days (sum average daily temp)
Decay is linear in Accumulated Degree Days
Depends on whether body was buried or not
Decay is faster on the surface
More insect activity
Warmer—2 feet down is fairly constant 50-55o F
Decay is slower in acid soil
Pine forests have very acid soil
Decay is slower if the body is sprayed with insecticide
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Adipocere—Grave Wax
Adipocere is a wax-like substance formed by the hydrolysis of fat to fatty acids and soaps in presence of bacterial enzymes.
It is resistant to bacteria and slows further decomposition.
Formation begins within a month of death, and in the absence of air it can last for centuries.
Formation can occur in embalmed or untreated corpses.
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Adipocere
Adipocere is formed under the following conditions:
On bodies are not exposed to insects
In a moist, airless environment (bottom of a lake, wet ground)
Prominent on cheeks, buttocks, stomach, breasts (areas with lots of fat)
An exposed, infested body (with insects), or a body in a warm environment is unlikely to form deposits of adipocere.
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Otzi, the Ice Man
5300 year old body
Found by hikers in Austrian Alps
Otzi is primarily now adipocere
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Adipocere – Grave Wax
Over a timescale of centuries, adipocere in sealed airtight containers (such as lead-lined coffins used by the Romans) can turn into “body liquor" - a brown/orange fatty liquid that may be highly infectious.
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Chapter 12
Summary of Decomposition
Algor Mortis: Body cooling rate
98.4°F – internal body temperature
1.5
Hours since death =
Livor Mortis: skin discoloration caused by pooling of blood
Rigor Mortis: rigidity of skeletal muscles
Temperature of body
Stiffness of body
Time since death
Warm
Not stiff
Not dead more than 3 hours
Stiff
Dead between 3 and 8 hours
Cold
Dead between 8 and 36 hours
Dead for more than 36 hours
A pathologist estimates time of death from these factors.
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Chapter 12
Summary of Stages of Death
Stage
Description
Initial or fresh decay (autolysis)
The cadaver appears fresh externally but is decomposing internally due to the activities of bacteria present before death (0–4 days).
Putrefaction or bloating
The cadaver is swollen by gas produced internally, accompanied by the odor of decaying flesh (4–10 days).
Black putrefaction
Flesh of creamy consistency, with exposed body parts black. Body collapses as gases escape. Fluids drain from body. Odor of decay very strong (10–20 days).
Butyric fermentation
Cadaver drying out. Some flesh remains
at first; cheesy odor from butyric acid
(20–50 days).
Dry decay (diagenesis)
Cadaver almost dry; slow rate of decay. May mummify (50–365 days).
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25. Forensic Anthropology
Forensic anthropology is a type of applied anthropology that specializes in the changes and variations in the human skeleton for the purpose of legal inquiry
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26. Forensic Anthropology
A forensic anthropologist may provide basic identification information of skeletonized or badly decomposed remains.
From a whole bone or part of a bone, the scientist may be able to determine:
An age range
Sex
Race
Approximate height
Cause of death, disease, or anomaly
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Osteology
Study of bones
206 bones in an adult human
Function of bones:
Provides structure and rigidity
Protects soft tissue and organs
Serves as an attachment for muscles
Produces blood cells
Serves as a storage area for minerals
Can detoxify the body by removing heavy metals and other foreign elements from the blood
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Age Determination
Most accurate estimations from:
Teeth
Epiphyses or growth plates
Pubic symphysis
Cranial sutures: the three major cranial sutures appear as distinct lines in youth and gradually close from the inside out.
Investigators always use an age range because of the variation in people and how they age.The investigator does not want to eliminate any possibilities for identification.
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29. Age Determination Using Cranial Sutures
Sagittal suture
Sagittal suture completely closed
Males—26 or older
Female—29 or older
Sagittal suture is complete open
Male—less than 32
Female—less than 35
Complete closure of all three major sutures
Male—over 35
Female—over 50
Lambodial
Coronal
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30. Age Determination Using Basilar Suture
Technically known as the synchondrosis spheno-occipitalis, closes in females as young as 14 and in males as young as 16. If the suture is open, the individual is generally considered 18 or younger.
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31. Age Determination Using Epiphysis
Stage of Union
of Medial Clavicle
Male
Female
Non-union without separate epiphysis
21 or younger
20 or younger
Non-union with separate epiphysis
16-21
17-20
Partial union
17-30
17-33
Complete union
21 or older
20 or older
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32. Age Determination Using Epiphysis
Stage of Union
of the Iliac Crest
Male
Female
Non-union without separate epiphysis
16 or younger
11 or younger
Non-union with separate epiphysis
13-19
14-15
Partial union
14-23
Complete union
17 or older
18 or older
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33. Gender Differences in Bones
The pelvis of the female is wider. Males have a narrow subpubic angle (A) and a narrow pubic body (B).
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34. Male Female
Sub Pubic Angle

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Gender Differences
The ribcage and shoulders of males are generally wider and larger than that of females. In addition, about one person in twenty has an extra rib. This is more common in males than in females.
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Gender Differences
In males the index finger is sometimes shorter than the third finger. In females, the first finger is sometimes longer than the third finger. This is not often used as an indicator of gender as there are many exceptions.
Is this a male or female hand
according to the above rule?
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Race
Race is difficult to determine from most skeletal remains, especially since pure races are becoming uncommon. An experienced forensic anthropologist can generally place skulls into one of three groups:
Caucasian—European, Middle Eastern, and Indian descent
Negroid—African, Aborigine, and Melanesian descent
Mongoloid—Asian, Native American and Polynesian descent
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Race Characteristics
Caucasoids—have a long, narrow nasal aperture, a triangular palate, oval orbits, narrow zygomatic arches and narrow mandibles.
Negroids—have a wide nasal aperture, a rectangular palate, square orbits, and more pronounced zygomatic arches. The long bones are longer, have less curvature and greater density.
Mongoloids—have a more rounded nasal aperture, a parabolic palate, rounded orbits, wide zygomatic arches and more pointed mandibles.
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What differences do you notice between these three skulls? Can you determine race?
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Estimation of Height
The height of a person can be calculated by using the length of certain long bones, including the femur, tibia, humerus, and radius. Below are the equations to determine average measurements for both male and female. (All measurements are in centimeters)
Male Female
femur x femur x
tibia x tibia x
humerus x humerus x
radius x radius x
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Odontology
The identity of an individual can be determined by comparing a person’s teeth to their dental records. Unusual features including the number and types of teeth and fillings, the spacing of the teeth, and/or special dental work (bridges, false teeth, root canals) help to make a positive identification.
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42. Odontology and Identification
Teeth are often used for body identification because:
They are the hardest substances in the body
They are unique to the individual
X-rays are a good record of teeth
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Facial Restoration
After determining the sex, age, and race of an individual, facial features can be built upon a skull to assist in identification. Erasers are used to make tissue depths at various points on the skull. Clay is used to build around these markers and facial features are molded.
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44. Steps in Facial Reconstruction
Model muscles on skull
Add fatty tissue around eyes and lacrimal glands
Add eyelids
Add the nose
Add the parotid gland
Add the ears
Cover all with layers of skin
Detail the face
With a skull:
Establish age, sex and race
Plot landmarks for tissue thickness
Plot origin and insertion points for muscles
Plot landmarks for facial features
Select a dataset and mount markers for tissue thickness
Mount the eyes
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One Final Product
John List killed his entire family, moved to a new town and assumed a new identity. Seventeen years later, Frank Bender reconstructed what he believed List would look like. It was shown on America’s Most Wanted, and he was turned in by the viewers almost immediately. . . looking very much like the reconstruction.
Check out more about this story on CourtTV’s crime library:
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People in the News
Bill Bass is a forensic anthropologist who has assisted law enforcement with hundreds of cases. He established the world’s first and only laboratory devoted to the study of human decomposition at the University of Tennessee’s Anthropology Research Facility.
It is known as “the body farm.”
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The Body Farm
The nickname of a two and a half acre research facility in Tennessee developed in 1980 by Bill Bass where bodies are placed in various conditions and allowed to decompose. Its main purpose is to observe and understand the processes and timetable of postmortem decay. Over the years it has helped to improve the ability to determine "time since death" in murder cases.
Hic locus est ubi mortui viveuntes docent.
This is the place where the dead teach the living.
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48. Anthropologist at Work
This anthropologist is
hard at work dusting
away material from
these imbedded bones.
Picture taken at
Chicago’s Museum
of Natural History
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More Applications
Forensic experts may be called upon
to give information on the life and death
of humans and animals in unique
circumstances, including:
Mass Murder (Oklahoma bombing, plane crashes, World Trade)
Earlier man (mummies, Iceman, Lindow man)
Historical Significance (Holocaust, uncertain death of famous people)
Prehistoric Animals (Dinosaurs)
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50. Animal Facial Restoration
Determining what T Rex looked like using the bone formation.
From this: To this:
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More Information
For additional information on Bill Bass and the Body Farm
On forensic artists:
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