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The impact of shallow burial on differential decomposition to the body

No / Extant literature contains a number of specific case studies on differential decomposition involving adipocere formation or desiccation, but few describe the co-occurrence of these features within a temperate climate. The case of a 65-year-old male, partially buried in a shallow grave for 7 months, is presented in which the soft tissues of the body were outwardly well preserved. The right leg was desiccated, some parts of the body were covered with adipocere (head, neck, right shoulder, upper torso and left leg) and other parts could be classified as in the early stages of decomposition. In this study the taphonomic variables resulting in differential decomposition with desiccation and adipocere formation are discussed.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:BRADFORD/oai:bradscholars.brad.ac.uk:10454/4578
Date January 2010
CreatorsSchotsmans, Eline M.J., Van de Voorde, W., De Winne, J., Wilson, Andrew S.
Source SetsBradford Scholars
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeArticle, No full-text in the repository

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