Forensic Archaeology
Cultural Resource Management | Workshops | Forensic Archeology | Site and Scene Mapping and Cartography | Connor Biography
Working with law
enforcement in the medico-legal sphere
▪ Grave Location
▪ Body Recovery
▪ Outdoor Scene Mapping
▪ Outdoor Scene Interpretation
What is Forensic Archaeology?
Forensic Archaeology is the application of the theories and methods of archaeology to forensic work. Archaeologists work to locate scenes, record and excavate the scenes, and reconstruct the activities that occurred at the scenes.
What do Forensic Archaeologists do?
Grave location.
Archeologists look for traditional archaeological sites through a variety of techniques fitted to the terrain and site type. Techniques include pedestrian inventory, probes, remote sensing, and trenching. All of these can be used to find bodies and graves. Our team has years of experience in locating buried bodies.
Scene Assessment
Once the grave is found, the exhumations needs to be conducted safely and planned so that the maximum amount of information can be extracted. Our team is familiar with difficult and potentially dangerous excavation scenarios, such as deep trenches, landfills, and wells. We can help assess the need for safety equipment, other experts (from climbing experts to entomologists) and plan the exhumation to extract the all the information possible.
Scene Documentation and Mapping
The excavation of an archaeological site or the investigation of a scene destroys both. Documenting the scene is the only record of its condition before investigation. Our team uses sophisticated laser-based mapping with computerized mapping programs to quickly and efficiently map large areas in detail. Our team also uses film-based photography for detail and archival work, as well as digital photography for images that are available to send immediately to other experts and enforcement agencies.
Excavation and Body Recovery
Excavating a grave or recovering surface remains should be much more than simply placing all the body elements in a body bag. Is the scene the execution site as well as the burial site? What other activities happened there? How long has the body been there? What tools were used to make the grave? Is this the only location the body has been since death? Our team has extensive international experience in reconstructing answering each of these questions at scenes.
Outdoor Scene Reconstruction
Using the same methods and theories that archaeologists use to reconstruct the activities at sites thousands of years old, they can reconstruct the activities at more recent crime scenes. Archaeologists look not only at the artifacts (evidence) but their context within the site and its association with other material. A cartridge case found alone may result from hunting or target practice; a cartridge case in association with a dead body may have a very different origin.
Archaeologists are also aware of site formation processes, of studying what happened between the time the site, or scene, was created and the time that it was investigated. This can include the activity of carnivores and rodents, of agricultural tools (plows, disks), and natural processes like erosion and soil deposition. These need to be separated from activities that occurred before and during the burial to accurately reconstruct the pertinent activities. Our team has experience in reconstructing small, single-activity sites and large, multiple-activity sites.
Report Writing
No job is complete until the report is submitted. Documentation of the findings in writing is always necessary. Our team works to create clear, concise, appropriately illustrated reports written in language easily understandable by the non-archaeologist.
Cultural Resource Management | Workshops | Forensic Archeology | Site and Scene Mapping and Cartography | Connor Biography