Recommended Further Reading
- Bass, W. M. (1997). Outdoor decomposition rates in Tennessee. In: Haglund, W. D., Sorg, M. H., eds. Forensic Taphonomy. New York: CRC Press.
- This article summarizes William Bass’s findings on decomposition over his 30 year studies in the field.
- Galloway, A., Birkby, W. H., Jones, A. M., Henry, T. E., Parks, B. O. (1989). Decay rates of human remains in an arid environment. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 34:607–616.
- This is an excellent early attempt to correlate amount of decomposition with postmortem interval.
- Haglund, W. D. (1997a). Dogs and coyotes: Postmortem involvement with human remains. In: Haglund, W. D., Sorg, M. H., eds. Forensic Taphonomy. New York: CRC Press.
- An early study of how canids scatter human remains.
- Haglund, W. D. (1997b). Rodents and human remains. In: Haglund, W. D., Sorg, M. H., eds. Forensic Taphonomy. New York: CRC Press.
- An early study of how rodents affect human remains.
- Haskell, N. H., Hall, R. D., Cervenka, V. J., Clark, M. A. (1997). On the body: Insects’ life stage presence and their postmortem artifacts. In: Haglund, W. D., Sorg,M. H., eds. Forensic Taphonomy. New York: CRC Press.
- This is a good overview of forensic entomology.
- Komar, D. A. (1998). Decay rates in a cold climate region: A review of cases involving advanced decomposition from the medical examiner’s office in Edmonton, Alberta. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 43:57–61.
- This is the only study of decomposition and postmortem interval in cold climates.
- Rodriguez, W. C., Bass, W. M. (1985). Decomposition of buried bodies and methods that may aid in their location. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 30:836–852.
- This is the only study of decomposition of buried bodies ever published.
Useful Weblinks
General How to videos
- Locating Craniometric landmarks for use in population affinity estimation with Dr. Kate Spradley
- https://www.statsmachine.net/software/3Skull/videos/Cranial_Landmarks-Spradley.mp4
- Using FORDISC 3.0 with Dr. Richard Jantz. FORDISC 3.0 is a statical program used by most forensic anthropologists to estimate population affinity, sex, and stature. In this video Dr. Jantz walks us through analyzing craniometric data with FORDISC 3.0.
- https://www.statsmachine.net/software/3Skull/videos/Fordisc_3-Jantz.mp4
- The Society of Forensic Anthropologists (SOFA) has collaborated with the Forensic Technology Center of Excellence (FTCOE) to create a series of workshops. In order for you to view the workshop you will need to create a login using the “back to the webinar series link,” but this link will take you to the information page regarding Dr. Heather Edgars workshop on 'Dental Morphology and the Informative but lessor known Traits'
- https://forensiccoe.org/webinar-2023-dental-morphology-traits/
Recently there have been a series of excellent symposia bringing scholars together to discuss race, racism, ancestry, and population affinity in forensic anthropology. Some of these symposia were recorded and we are sharing those resources with you below.
Blinded by the White: Forensic Anthropology and Ancestry estimation webinar February 19, 2021
This webinar brought together several forensic anthropologists including (Drs. Helen Cho, Teresa Wilson, Jesse Goliath, Elizabeth DiGangi, and Ann Ross) to discuss different aspects of the discussion surrounding racism, race terms, ancestry estimation, and population affinity in forensic anthropology.
Forensic Anthropology Companion Podcast by Dr. Michael Kenyhercz (available anywhere you get your podcasts)
Episodes Relevant to Population affinity or ancestry estimation:
- Episode 2: Vol. 1. No.1 – Dr. Bridget Algee- Hewitt Discusses her paper, “Temporal, Geographic and Identification Trends in Craniometric Estimations of Ancestry for Persons of Latin American Origin.
- Episode 7: Vol 2. No.1- Micayla Spiros on the Standardization of Postcranial Nonmetric Traits and Their Utility in Ancestry analysis.
- Episode 12:Vol 4. No.2- Drs. Heather Edgar and Steve Ousley, “Testing the Homogeneity of White”
- Episode 13: Vol 4. No.4 Dr. Kate Spradley on her co-authored paper with Dr. Richard Jantz, “What are we really estimating in Forensic Anthropological Practice, Population Affinity or Ancestry?”
- Episode 14: Vol. 4. No. 4 Kamar Afra on her co-authored paper, “ Self-Reported Ancestry and Craniofacial SNPs: Assessing Correspondence with Implications for Forensic Case Analysis and Reporting”
- Episode 15: Vol.4 No. 4- Marin Pilloud, SaMoura Horsley, Chaunesey Clemmons and Casey Philbin on their paper, “Terminology Used to Describe Human Variation in Forensic Anthropology.”
- Episode 16 Vol. 4 No. 4 – Go et al., on WEIRD Anthropologists and their White Skeletons