A review of experimental design in forensic taphonomy: moving towards forensic realism.
| Autor: | Miles KL; Department of Biology, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB, Canada., Finaughty DA; School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK., Gibbon VE; Department of Human Biology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, WC, South Africa. |
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| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Zdroj: | Forensic sciences research [Forensic Sci Res] 2020 Aug 13; Vol. 5 (4), pp. 249-259. Date of Electronic Publication: 2020 Aug 13. |
| DOI: | 10.1080/20961790.2020.1792631 |
| Abstrakt: | Forensic taphonomy as a discipline requires standardization to satisfy Daubert criteria for scientific data to be admissible in court. In response, there has been a shift towards quantification of methodology and estimating the postmortem interval. Despite these advances, there are still biases and limitations within the discipline not explicitly addressed in the early stages of experimental design nor in final published works. In this article, unresolved debates with respect to the conductance and reporting of forensic taphonomic research are reviewed, beginning with the nature of experimental cadavers, human or animal analogues and their body size, and second, the forensic realism of experimental setups, specifically with respect to caging, clothing and number of carcases. Pigs, albeit imperfect, are a good model to gain a general idea of the trends that may be seen in humans in subsequent validation studies in facilities where human donors are available. To date, there is no consensus among taphonomists on the extent of the effect that body mass has on decomposition progression. More research is required with both human cadavers and non-human analogues that builds on our current knowledge of forensic taphonomy to answer these nagging questions. This will enable the discipline to make the reliable assumption that pigs and donor decomposition data can be applied to homicide cases. A suite of experimental design aspects is suggested to ensure systematic and standardized data collection across different biogeoclimatic circumstances to identify and quantify the effects of potential confounding variables. Such studies in multiple, varied biogeographic circumstances with standardized protocols, equipment and carrion will facilitate independent global validation of patterns. These factors are reviewed to show the need for adjustments in experimental design to ensure relevance and applicability of data within locally realistic forensic situations. The initiation of a global decomposition data network for forensic taphonomists is recommended.Key pointsPigs are a valuable, albeit imperfect, proxy for human decomposition studies.There are few or conflicting data on effects of carcase size, carrion ecology, exclusion cages and scavengers.We recommend single, clothed, uncaged carcases for baseline research to reflect regionally specific forensic casework. Competing Interests: No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors. (© 2020 The Author(s). Published by Taylor & Francis Group on behalf of the Academy of Forensic Science.) |
| Databáze: | MEDLINE |
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