NCJ Number
246086
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 58 Issue: 3 Dated: May 2013 Pages: 583-591
Date Published
May 2013
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This study compared the decomposition of skeletal muscle tissues SMTs from human Homo sapiens, pork Sus scrofa, beef Bos taurus, and lamb Ovis aries interred in soil microcosms.
Abstract
Taphonomic studies regularly employ animal analogues for human decomposition due to ethical restrictions relating to the use of human tissue. However, the validity of using animal analogues in soil decomposition studies is still questioned. This study compared the decomposition of skeletal muscle tissues SMTs from human Homo sapiens, pork Sus scrofa, beef Bos taurus, and lamb Ovis aries interred in soil microcosms. Fixed interval samples were collected from the SMT for microbial activity and mass tissue loss determination; samples were also taken from the underlying soil for pH, electrical conductivity, and nutrient potassium, phosphate, ammonium, and nitrate analysis. The overall patterns of nutrient fluxes and chemical changes in nonhuman SMT and the underlying soil followed that of human SMT. Ovine tissue was the most similar to human tissue in many of the measured parameters. Although no single analogue was a precise predictor of human decomposition in soil, all models offered close approximations in decomposition dynamics. Abstract published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons.