Preserved brains from the Spanish Civil War mass grave (1936) at La Pedraja1, Burgos, Spain
| Autor: | Ana Maria Bermejo, Jose Luis Cascallana, Carmen Navarro, Lourdes Herrasti, Nicholas Márquez-Grant, Francisco Etxeberria, Fernando Serrulla |
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| Rok vydání: | 2016 |
| Předmět: |
Diagnostic Imaging
Models Anatomic History Taphonomy Burial Intracranial haemorrhage Context (language use) Exhumation Adipocere Multidisciplinary team 01 natural sciences Pathology and Forensic Medicine 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine Humans 030216 legal & forensic medicine Forensic Pathology 010401 analytical chemistry Forensic anthropology Brain Mummies History 20th Century Archaeology 0104 chemical sciences Spanish Civil War Spain Printing Three-Dimensional Forensic Anthropology |
| Zdroj: | Sciencejustice : journal of the Forensic Science Society. 56(6) |
| ISSN: | 1355-0306 |
| Popis: | During the excavation of the Spanish Civil War mass grave at La Pedraja (Burgos, Spain), 104 individuals were found interred within it, 45 of which displayed brains that were preserved but dehydrated and reduced in size. This exceptional finding has resulted in the formation of a multidisciplinary team, with the aim of obtaining as much information as possible and to primarily understand the taphonomic phenomena that has led to the preservation of these brains. The following types of analyses were undertaken on three of these brains: macroscopy, histology, radiology, chemical-toxicology, genetics, chemical analysis of the soil and 3D modelling for stereolithography. The historical context was considered, plus all archaeological and other forensic data provided by the investigation of the mass grave. The results of the analyses on these morphologically identifiable human brains confirmed the presence of nerve structures, fatty acids, and in one case ante-mortem evidence for an intracranial haemorrhage. The fatty acid profile corresponds to the process of saponification. Therefore, the interpretation is that the preservation of these brains at the mass grave of La Pedraja was due to the saponification process, which was influenced by the manner and cause of death, the chemical composition of the brain, the physicochemical properties of the soil and the meteorological conditions at the time. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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