Differentiation of Perimortem and Postmortem Trauma Using Taphonomic Indicators

Ubelaker, Douglas H.; Adams, Bradley J.

doi:10.1520/jfs13818j

Cited by 130 publications

(94 citation statements)

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“…Perimortem fractures usually show no colour differences between the bone area where the fracture occurred and the area surrounding the fracture, i.e. the bone appears as one colour on the fracture edges, surface and surrounding bone (Ubelaker & Adams, 1995). Fresh bone is more likely to splinter, instead of breaking into small pieces.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Palaeopathological Assessment of the Late 19th and Early 20th Century Khoesan

Botha

Steyn

2014

Intl J of Osteoarchaeology

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Since the arrival of Dutch colonists in the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, Khoesan populations were subjected to severe political and economic marginalisation and often fell prey to racial conflict. These circumstances persisted until the early 20th century, during which an astonishing number of Khoesan skeletons were transported from South Africa to various locations in Europe, as at the time, different institutions competed to obtain these remains. The purpose of this study was to assess the health status of the late 19th and early 20th century Khoesan. Skeletal remains housed in two different European institutions were studied. The sample comprised 140 specimens from the Rudolf Pöch Skeletal Collection in Vienna, Austria, and 15 specimens from the Musée de l'Homme in Paris, France. These individuals represent both sexes and were aged between newborn and 75 years, with 54 being younger than 20 years of age. Results indicated high levels of typical disease conditions associated with groups under stress, such as periostitis, cribra orbitalia and porotic hyperostosis. Treponemal disease, rickets, osteoarthritis and trauma were also encountered amongst other more specific indicators of health and disease. This study provided additional knowledge on the health status and lives of the Khoesan people during this turbulent period and created new awareness regarding a group of severely mistreated individuals.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Palaeopathological Assessment of the Late 19th and Early 20th Century Khoesan

Botha

Steyn

2014

Intl J of Osteoarchaeology

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“…All the broken ends of bones were examined for evidence of perimortem trauma. Perimortem trauma can be mistaken for post-mortem breaks, however living bone has plasticity and elasticity that is absent in dry bone, resulting in distinctive smooth-edged breaks, typically not at right angles to the bone contour, and of a color similar to the rest of the bone (Galloway et al 2014b;Ubelaker and Adams 1995;Wheatley 2008). Individuals who survived for a short time after injury may exhibit woven bone formation at the fracture site, indicative of early callus formation (Hamblen et al 2007;Lovell 2008;McKinley 2003).…”

Section: Fracture Recording and Radiographymentioning

confidence: 99%

Gendered Differences in Accidental Trauma to Upper and Lower Limb Bones at Aquincum, Roman Hungary

Gilmour

Gowland

Roberts

et al. 2015

International Journal of Paleopathology

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Additional information:Use policyThe full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-pro t purposes provided that:• a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.Please consult the full DRO policy for further details. AbstractIt is hypothesized that men and women living in the border provinces of the Roman Empire may have encountered different physical dangers associated with variation in their occupations and activities. Limb bone trauma data were used to assess sex-based differences in physical hazards and evidence for fracture healing and treatment. Two hundred and ten skeletons were examined from a late 1 st to early 4 th century AD cemetery at Aquincum (Budapest, Hungary). Upper and lower limb bone fracture types, frequencies, distributions, and associated complications were recorded, and gendered patterns in injury risks were explored. Of the 23 fractures identified, both sexes had injuries indicative of falls; males exhibited the only injuries suggestive of higherenergy and more direct forces. Most fractures were well-healed with few complications. The extremity trauma at Aquincum suggests that people buried here experienced less hazardous physical activities than at other Roman provincial sites. The patterns of trauma indicate that "traditional" gender roles were in place, whereby male civilians participated in more physically dangerous activities than females. Additionally, treatment may have been equally accessible to men and women, but certain fracture types proved more challenging to reduce using the techniques available.

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“…For this reason, the perimortem stage has an unpredictable time span and may occupy a long period of time. Nawrocki (2009) argues that the perimortem interval lasts until skeletal remains exhibit postmortem, dry bone, characteristics [10,14,15]. From a medicolegal point of view, the perimortem stage is important, since any injury directly associated with the manner of death is considered a perimortem injury [4,5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New insights in the analysis of blunt force trauma in human bones. Preliminary results

et al. 2016

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Determining the time of injury is an important but still a challenging task in forensic anthropology. In literature, many descriptions can be found to make a distinction between perimortem and postmortem fractures. Characteristics that are more related to fractures in fresh conditions, however, are not extensively investigated. This study compared 28 perimortem fractures from autopsies and 21 both fresh and dry experimentally reproduced human bone fractures. Preliminary results showed the following five distinct traits that might be related to perimortem conditions: layered breakage, bone scales, crushed margins, wave lines and flakes with matching flake defect. These distinct traits might not only be good estimators of perimortem trauma but also may be an indicator of trauma in intra vitam conditions, especially related with muscular reaction to injury. Furthermore, layered breakage seems to be a good trait to infer the biomechanics of trauma.

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Differentiation of Perimortem and Postmortem Trauma Using Taphonomic Indicators

Cited by 130 publications

References 1 publication

A Palaeopathological Assessment of the Late 19th and Early 20th Century Khoesan

A Palaeopathological Assessment of the Late 19th and Early 20th Century Khoesan

Gendered Differences in Accidental Trauma to Upper and Lower Limb Bones at Aquincum, Roman Hungary

New insights in the analysis of blunt force trauma in human bones. Preliminary results

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