A Critical Look at Methods for Recovering, Evaluating, and Interpreting Cremated Human Remains

Patterned Thermal Destruction in a Forensic Setting

“…Studies oriented towards the identification of thermally altered skeletal materials and analysing visual changes of the bone. This area has been the focus of many studies, among them Bass (1984), Swegle (1989), DeHaan (1997), DeHaan andNurbakhsh (1999, 2001), Delattre (2000), Dunlop (1978), Eckert (1981), Eckert et al (1988), Fairgrieve and Molto (1994), Gejvall (1969), Grevin et al (1998), Heglar (1984), Holland (1989), Mayne (1990), Mayne Correia (1997), Mayne Correia and Beattie (2002, McKinley and Bond (2001), Nugent (2010), Richards (1977), Shipman et al (1984), Stewart (1979), Thompson (1999Thompson ( , 2004, Thurman andWillmore (1980), Van Vark (1975) and Wells (1960). 4.…”

“…Obviously, the effective collection and preservation underlies the success of all burn studies (Dirkmaat and Adovasio, 1997;Dirkmaat, 2002;Dirkmaat et al, 2008;Mayne Correia, 1997;Mayne Correia and Beattie, 2002;Krogman and İşcan, 1986). Without the proper collection, the data do not exist.…”

The Use of Ethnographic Information in Cremation Studies

“…However, cremation weights are also affected by other numerous factors, including the efficiency of the cremation process, selection of the burned remains for burial, the soil and burial conditions the bone is exposed to and excavation methods (Correia and Beattie, 2002;May, 2011;McKinley, 1989McKinley, , 1993Ubelaker, 2009). These influences are not mutually exclusive.…”

Forensic archaeology in the United States

“…Taphonomic analyses performed at the laboratory required very specific field data collected with those analyses in mind. In this manner, the new forensic taphonomy volumes included several chapters on forensic archaeology and scene recovery techniques (Dirkmaat 2002;Dirkmaat and Adovasio 1997;Hochrein 2002;Mayne Correia and Beattie 2002;Saul and Saul 2002;Scott and Connor 1997).…”