Burn, Chop, Drown: A Forensic Analysis of Taphonomic Effects on Bone
Mentor 1
Emily Middleton
Start Date
28-4-2023 12:00 AM
Description
This research focuses on building a comparative collection of the taphonomic impacts of fire on bone. The methodology is to use deer limb bones as a proxy for human limb bones to demonstrate how fire can influence the color of bone in a zooarchaeological setting while simultaneously duplicating a hasty and controlled burn in a forensic context. Using experimental archaeology, tracking temperature, and duration of time under heat, I will create a comparative collection to highlight the specific colors bone changes to when exposed to different specific temperatures. In the forensic context, a hasty burn is to replicate a desperate attempt at hiding evidence. The controlled burn simulates a premeditated action at hiding evidence. The resulting altered bones for both experiments will be used as teaching aids for future students. The vessel used for burning to reproduce the forensic conditions is an aluminum garbage can modified into a burn barrel. The burn vessel used for burning in a zooarchaeological context is a propane grill. The grill allows us to control for temperature and compare findings to prior research. Temperature will be taken using the Tekcoplus Thermocouple-4 channel-thermometer that allows us to directly measure the fire in the burn barrel. Temperature will be taken every 15 minutes and recorded. The propane grill has a built-in thermometer, which will be used to take and record heat exposure ranging from 300F to 700F. These temperatures reflect previously documented ranges at which bone color changes from yellow to black to blue to white. I will burn two fleshed deer hind limbs in the burn barrel in two different trials and then six de-fleshed deer tibiae in the propane grill in three different trials. This project is significant because it will provide additional information about how bone responds to different thermal stressors.
Burn, Chop, Drown: A Forensic Analysis of Taphonomic Effects on Bone
This research focuses on building a comparative collection of the taphonomic impacts of fire on bone. The methodology is to use deer limb bones as a proxy for human limb bones to demonstrate how fire can influence the color of bone in a zooarchaeological setting while simultaneously duplicating a hasty and controlled burn in a forensic context. Using experimental archaeology, tracking temperature, and duration of time under heat, I will create a comparative collection to highlight the specific colors bone changes to when exposed to different specific temperatures. In the forensic context, a hasty burn is to replicate a desperate attempt at hiding evidence. The controlled burn simulates a premeditated action at hiding evidence. The resulting altered bones for both experiments will be used as teaching aids for future students. The vessel used for burning to reproduce the forensic conditions is an aluminum garbage can modified into a burn barrel. The burn vessel used for burning in a zooarchaeological context is a propane grill. The grill allows us to control for temperature and compare findings to prior research. Temperature will be taken using the Tekcoplus Thermocouple-4 channel-thermometer that allows us to directly measure the fire in the burn barrel. Temperature will be taken every 15 minutes and recorded. The propane grill has a built-in thermometer, which will be used to take and record heat exposure ranging from 300F to 700F. These temperatures reflect previously documented ranges at which bone color changes from yellow to black to blue to white. I will burn two fleshed deer hind limbs in the burn barrel in two different trials and then six de-fleshed deer tibiae in the propane grill in three different trials. This project is significant because it will provide additional information about how bone responds to different thermal stressors.
