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Twenty-Seven Years of Forensic Anthropology Casework in New Mexico
Abstract
A review of anthropological consult cases for the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator was conducted for the years 1974 through 2000. A total of 596 cases are summarized and information is presented on the sex and age of the individuals, season of recovery, depositional environment, body covering, time since death, perimortem trauma, postmortem animal activity, and skeletal element recovery. Results reveal a higher percentage of male victims (76%). No variation is seen in the seasonal distribution of cases. In cases with known time since death, 35% were recovered within one week while 30% had a postmortem interval exceeding one year. Depositional environments include surface (45%), burial (13%), and airplane crashes (9.5%). In 42% of the cases, no evidence of perimortem trauma was observed. Postmortem animal activity was noted in 46% of cases. Data presented in this study may prove useful in supporting expert witness testimony and generating future research models.
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Scavenging rates of 4.8-60% have been reported in forensic anthropological casework surveys from South Africa, the USA, the UK, and Switzerland.
“scavenging rates of 4.8 -60% were stated in forensic anthropological casework surveys from South Africa, the USA, the UK, and Switzerland [2 -6].”
From Forensic experiments on animal scavenging: A systematic literature review on what we have and what we need (2023) · cites this paper as [5]
Failure to recover the entire skeleton due to taphonomic variables is a common issue in forensic casework.
“failure to recover the entire skeleton due to taphonomic variables is a common issue in forensic casework [4,5,107,112,113].”
From Forensic experiments on animal scavenging: A systematic literature review on what we have and what we need (2023) · cites this paper as [5]
The reviewed literature's frequent mention of trauma reflects forensic casework, where trauma is common.
“This re flects forensic casework, where trauma is common, e.g. [5].”
From Forensic experiments on animal scavenging: A systematic literature review on what we have and what we need (2023) · cites this paper as [5]
Body parts are sufficient for capturing local scavenger guilds, or the reproduction of scenarios with dismembered and mutilated remains.
“they are sufficient for capturing local scavenger guilds, or the reproduction of scenarios with dismembered and muti lated remains [5]”
From Forensic experiments on animal scavenging: A systematic literature review on what we have and what we need (2023) · cites this paper as [5]
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Indra, L., Lösch, S., Errickson, D., & Finaughty, D. (2023) · Forensic Science International · doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2023.111862 · Cited by 18
Metadata
- Authors
- Komar, D.
- Affiliations
- University of New Mexico (US)
- Corresponding author
- Komar, D
- Venue
- Journal of Forensic Sciences
- Publisher
- ASTM International
- Published
- 2003-05-01
- Volume
- 48
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 1-4
- ISSN
- 0022-1198 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2415372525
- Cited by
- 39
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 2 · 2019: 1 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 1
- FWCI
- 6.34
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Forensic Sciences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Archeology (arts and humanities) › Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Insect Science › Forensic Entomology and Diptera Studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pathology and Forensic Medicine › Autopsy Techniques and Outcomes
- Keywords
- age and sex estimation, postmortem interval, depositional environment, body covering, perimortem trauma, expert testimony, skeletal remains
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Animals, Cause of Death, Child, Feeding Behavior, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, New Mexico, Postmortem Changes, Seasons, Age Distribution, Sex Distribution, Forensic Anthropology
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