Taphonomical investigation applied to clandestine graves

Abstract

Taphonomy originates as a branch of palaeontology addressed to the study of processes occurring from the pre-agonic stages of an organism to the recovery of the fossilized palaeontological record. The rigorous methodology in recording data and the analysis accuracy allows application in forensic science. The use of taphonomical procedures in studying and searching for clandestine graves is described here. In the search for clandestine graves, taphonomy can help in narrowing the area of investigations, finding sites with adequate diggability and topography, and detecting anomalies on the ground. In the study of clandestine graves, taphonomy in tandem with other disciplines, such as forensic archaeology and anthropology, may contribute to investigation with rigorous excavation methods, stratigraphical survey, environmental reconstructions, sample and evidence records, burial characterization, body positioning and damages, and preservation patterns of human skeletal remains. Applications are also possible in karstic sites where several “Mafia cemeteries” may be found in the Italian territory.