Human Body Decomposition - Softcover

Hayman, Jarvis

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0128036915 ISBN 13: 9780128036914

Publisher: Academic Press, 2016

Synopsis

Human Body Decomposition compiles a chronological account of research into the estimation of the time since death in human bodies found decomposed so that researchers in the field can concentrate thoughts and build on achievements from the past. The fate of the human body after death is a subject that has fascinated enquirers, both in the scientific and legal realms, for millennia. However, objective research into the causes and nature of human decomposition has only taken place in the last two centuries, with quantitative measurement of the process as a means of estimating the time of death only recently being attempted. The substantial literature concerning this research has been published in numerous scientific journals since the beginning of the nineteenth century. This book expands on the current literature to include the evolving research on estimating time of death, also detailing the process of decomposition to include the early period after death when the body cools to ambient temperature and then begins to putrefy.

About this title

Review:

"...represents a detailed review of the extensive body of research relating to TSD estimation of human decomposition. In just over 150 pages, the authors have managed to cover the copious methods proposed from the early hours of post-mortem through to the skeletal stage and beyond...a useful reference to a range of audiences including students, academics, pathologists, police and anyone involved in death investigations." --Australian Journal of Forensic Sciences

About the Author:

Jarvis Hayman graduated in Medicine at Aberdeen University. After coming to Australia in 1974, he worked for many years as a surgeon in Sydney and in a regional city in New South Wales. Upon retiring, he studied archaeology at the Australian National University, obtaining a Master's degree in 2006 with a thesis on the archaeology of the Scottish Highland Clearances. He then combined his archaeological and medical knowledge to undertake a PhD in forensic archaeology. Research for the thesis included a detailed study of the National Coronial Information System, based at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine (VIFM) in Melbourne, studies of the autopsies of decomposed bodies at the VIFM and researching the decomposition of human bodies at the Grady Early Anthropology Research Facility (GEFARL) of the Texas State University in San Marcos. The thesis developed mathematical models using numerical total body scores of the decomposition process, to estimate the time of death up to 14 days, of human bodies found in many of the states of Australia.

About this edition

• Publisher: Academic Press
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 0128036915
• ISBN 13: 9780128036914
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 164