Forensic taphonomy is the branch of science concerned with the Post Mortem (PM) changes or transformations that the cadaveric material (dead body) undergo from the moment of death until recovery.
Forensic taphonomy involves investigating soft tissue changes, decomposition rates and patterns, the dispersion of body parts, and the modifications that occur to both soft tissues and bone. Such changes occur due to environmental exposure to soil, water and the interaction with plants, insects, animal activity, burial damage, fire damage, mineral absorption, and weathering.
It mainly combines knowledge from archaeology and forensic science to estimate time since death, reconstruct the circumstances before and after deposition, and discriminate the products of human behavior from those created by the earth’s biological, physical, chemical, and geological subsystems.
Forensic taphonomy can be further divided into two separate sections, biotaphonomy and geotaphonomy.
Biotaphonomy is the study of how the environment affects the decomposition of the body, specifically the destruction of the body’s soft and hard tissues of the body came about. It is affected by environmental factors (climate, animal scavenging), individual factors (age, health, and body mass), and cultural factors (mortuary practices such as embalming and autopsy procedures). Such data are relevant to the forensic investigation to understand the circumstances surrounding the death.
Geotaphonomy is studying how the decomposing body itself affects the surrounding geological and botanical environment. Involves studying soil disturbance, pH variations, vegetative growth, modification of natural watercourses, and erosion patterns. Such data can potentially assist in determining the time since death, identify perimortem and postmortem traumas, and identify damages by deliberate attempts assailants and scavengers activities. This helps to create a detailed timeline of events during and after death.
