Indra, Lara Isabelle; Lösch, Sandra (11 November 2022). The effects of vertebrate animals on exposed cadavers: Findings from an experiment (Unpublished). In: Swiss Anthropological Association (SGA) annual meeting. Basel. 11.-12. November 2022.
Vertebrate animals have the ability to alter exposed human remains in outdoor contexts. They can feed from (scavenge) the soft tissue and bones, or disperse and remove body parts and bones. Scavenging can effect various analyses, including the estimation of the postmortem interval (PMI), trauma analysis, identification, and the recovery of the skeleton. It is therefore crucial to be aware of the scavenging fauna and its impacts on human remains, especially in surface-located outdoor contexts.
In a taphonomy experiment, we monitored the decomposition process of pig carcasses and the vertebrate animal activity around them. The cadavers were exposed for five months through summer and fall in a Swiss forest near Bern. Motion-activated camera traps recorded the animal activity, and during site visits, we additionally documented the decomposition stage and alterations on the carcasses.
We captured various animal species at the pig plots, including birds, carnivores and deer. Only three species of animals scavenged the pig cadavers: red fox, mice and bank voles. All of these also removed bones from the sites. The lesions the scavengers created on mummified skin and bones are congruent with what we find in the literature. However, the interval between pig deposition and the first scavenging event was unexpectedly long with between 17 and 80 days.
Consequently, when investigating human remains discovered in Swiss forests, we should primarily focus on rodent and red fox impacts. Further knowledge is required regarding the scavenging behaviour during different seasons, and the dispersal pattern of these species.
Item Type: |
Conference or Workshop Item (Speech) |
|---|---|
Division/Institute: |
04 Faculty of Medicine > Service Sector > Institute of Legal Medicine > Anthropology 04 Faculty of Medicine > Service Sector > Institute of Legal Medicine |
Graduate School: |
Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences (GCB) |
UniBE Contributor: |
Indra, Lara Isabelle, Lösch, Sandra |
Subjects: |
600 Technology > 610 Medicine & health 300 Social sciences, sociology & anthropology |
Language: |
English |
Submitter: |
Lara Isabelle Indra |
Date Deposited: |
30 Nov 2022 08:44 |
Last Modified: |
15 Dec 2022 18:38 |
Uncontrolled Keywords: |
Forensic anthropology, forensic taphonomy, scavenging |
URI: |
https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/175245 |
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