Developing a new scoring method to evaluate human decomposition in a humid, continental (Dfb) climate in Quebec

Abstract

The published literature shows a lack of methods to evaluate the patterns and extent of decomposition of human remains and to estimate the post‐mortem interval (PMI) in humid, continental (Dfb) climates such as Quebec. The aim of this study was to address this gap in the current knowledge base by providing the first observations from human corpses studied under controlled conditions in Quebec. A 12‐month study was conducted at the site for Research in Experimental and Social Thanatology; the first human taphonomy facility in Canada. Six human donors with known time of death were deposited across spring (n = 1), summer (n = 3), and autumn (n = 2) 2021. The lack of suitability of the total body score method to evaluate the extent of decomposition at the facility prompted the development of a new scoring system based on the macromorphoscopic changes observed. The scoring system was applied to the donors to evaluate decomposition throughout seasons. All donors followed comparable decomposition trajectories, regardless of the season of deposition. Eighty‐five percent of taphonomic patterns appeared in the first 25 experimental days or 5000 Kelvin accumulated degree days (350 ADD). Extensive desiccation of tissues was observed at a median of 21 experimental days across donors, resulting in a plateau within decomposition with no extensive skeletonization. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first published report of experimentally observed desiccation in such a form in a Dfb climate. This study provides new data on the types of decomposition patterns to expect in forensic investigations in southern Quebec and comparable climates.

A synthesis of carcass decomposition studies conducted at a tropical (Aw) taphonomy facility: 2013–2022

“…Future studies can moreover implement clothing or alternate locations to respectively investigate forensically relevant scenarios and to help capture the biogeographic variability of Oahu [ 81 , 111 ]. Managing limitations and identifying avenues for further research will be aided by the incorporation of multivariate statistical analysis and emerging theory [ 22 , 81 , [111] , [112] , [113] ]. The current data have great potential for multivariate analyses and these will be prioritized as a more equal distribution of seasons is achieved.…”

Among Bodies: Portuguese Cemeterial Exhumations Three Years after a Pandemic

“…The postmortem fate of human remains has been studied by several researchers for the past few decades to better understand how the complex human body decomposes in different scenarios [51][52][53][54][55]. Though there is still much to discover when it comes to human taphonomy, studies have shown that cadavers can display distinct states and patterns of decay even when sharing the same PMI and burial conditions [12,17,56,57].…”