Citation

Mann RW, Bass WM, Meadows L. J. Forensic Sci. 1990; 35(1): 103-111.

Affiliation

Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1990, American Society for Testing and Materials, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

2313251

Abstract

Much of the difficulty in determining the time since death stems from the lack of systematic observation and research on the decomposition rate of the human body. Continuing studies conducted at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, provide useful information on the impact of carrion insect activity, ambient temperature, rainfall, clothing, burial and depth, carnivores, bodily trauma, body weight, and the surface with which the body is in contact. This paper reports findings and observations accumulated during eight years of research and case studies that may clarify some of the questions concerning bodily decay.

Language: en