Dry Bones In The Pacific

Bones can decompose. They have to be in very warm, damp environments though. Bones contain collagen fibers that contain calcium

A dead body that has been exposed to the elements such as water, air, temperature and weather, will decompose quicly and will attract much more insect activity. Colder temperatures slow decomposition, while warmer temperatures rather speed up the process of decomposition. If a body is available to insects, than the insects alone can reduce a fully fleshed body to skeletal bones withing a two week time period. Key factors to consider are: temperature, availability of oxygen, cause of death, trauma, humidity or wetness, rainfall, body size and weight, clothing, the surface where the body was resting, and the foods/objects inside the digestive tract of the

when the body loses too much bone, doesn’t make enough bone, or both. Because of

At this point the decomposition rate decreases, as decomposition fluids and insects have vacated the body. Though the rate of decomposition decreases, it continues to occur until all that remains are bones.

On October 4, 2016 we started a body farm lab on still-birth pigs. We were to observe the decomposition of the piglets because they decompose at a similar rate as human bodies. The piglets we observed were a naked and clothed pig suspended in the air, a naked and clothed pig on asphalt, naked and clothed pig on grass, naked and clothed pig on grass in the dirt, naked pig with a gunshot wound, naked pig with a stab wound, and a naked pig that has been burnt. After observing we were to determine what piglets decomposed faster than the others, what succession of insects were on certain piglets, and many other observations.

A prime example of science in Written in Bone is nearly all of Chapter 2 is science related. On page 23 there is a diagram of the human skeleton that labels all of the major bones in our skeletons, this helps the reader understand topics written about the human body and its bones. Also on page 22-23 it explains how after death bacteria eats away tissues which explains why there is only bone left with a skeleton. Quote "After death microbes such as bacteria feed on these tissues along with other parts of the body, causing them to decay." Along with this scientific explanation and many others there is also a complementing photo of the bacteria that helps the tissue to decay. Science is also present in Written in Bone when archeologists are trying to figure out what ancestry the skeleton is, Quote "The narrow nasal opening, the narrow face, and the shape of the bones on the roof of his mouth-were like those of English people of the seventeenth century. Using these criteria, Owsley determined that the teenager inside James Fort was European." These are a few small examples of the massive role science plays in the book Written in Bone.

On December 11, 2008 skeletal remains of a young child were found by an utility worker. By the time the worker had discovered the remains it had went through 5 stages of decomposition. The 1st stage starts when the person dies (Csanyi). The 1st stage consists of enzymes in dead body cells start breaking down tissues which is known as autolysis. While this is going on bacteria in the digestive track start to eat the intestines. The 1st stage is called the fresh stage which can last for 1-2 days, unless of course the body is in a hot and humid area (Csanyi). Also at this stage chemical released start to attract flies. The 2nd stage that the body went through is called the putrefaction or the bloated stage (Csanyi). As the internal bacteria form the intestines start to enter the rest of the body, it causes the body to fill with gasses and as this happens the body begins to swell. The smell that comes from this stage is what attracts egg laying insects most of which are blow flies (Csanyi).

When a person dies, the natural forces of decomposition cause for the soft tissue to breakdown and ultimately disappear over time. If enough time has gone by, any soft tissue evidence present at the time of death will also have disappeared. Once this has occurred, it is up to forensic anthropologists to analyze the skeletal remains for evidence of trauma in order to help the forensic pathologist assign a cause and manner of death to this individual. The task is complicated by the similarities between antemortem and perimortem injuries, the presence of skeletal anomalies, as well as the postmortem changes that can occur when skeletal remains are exposed to the elements of nature.

After a set of human remains has completely skeletonized by sitting out in the body farm, the skeleton is brought into a lab to be examined and curated as part of the skeletal collection. This transfer of the body from the body farm to the lab can be considered a ritual phase. This transfer is like a rite of passage from an old world to a new one. There is a symbolic crossing of the threshold that symbolizes this rite of passage (Van Gennep, 1960). This transfer of the remains from the body farm to the lab is a liminal rite. It is a period of transition between a fully fleshed human body housed in the body farm, to a skeletonized set of remains being transferred to a lab environment.

Food borne illnesses such as salmonella, shigellosis, and other bacteria related food poisonings will increase due to the rapid rise in temperature. These diseases can cause gastrointestinal problems, even death. An increase in rain flow causes flooding which can lead to an increase in food contamination. Water borne diseases Cryptosporidium and Giardia increase with heavy rainfall, and these parasites can be very harmful to the human body. Animal borne diseases such as Lyme disease and West Nile virus will increase as air temperature rises. Ticks and mosquito population will grow rapidly and conditions will be favorable for new strains of the diseases listed above. These diseases will have an effect on my career as a Forensic

Other studies such as that performed by Antranik et al (2012), also agree that a fever raising the body temperature enhances the immune response, increases the production of white blood cells and interferon proteins, and the fever may even slow down the multiplication of some pathogens, as microbes such as bacteria can only grow and reproduce within certain environmental conditions, these include the optimum temperature, pH, osmotic pressure and water availability. Most bacteria and viruses have a narrow temperature range in which they can thrive. Changing the temperature from 37°c to 38.3°c creates enough stress in the environment which begins to denature the enzyme preventing cellular growth and directly kill some organisms, and slow the growth of others supporting the fact that fever plays an integral role in fighting infection (Blamire, 2000).

Throughout life the skeletal system is constantly changing. Bone modeling, formation and growth of bones, occurs from birth to early adulthood resulting in increase in skeletal mass and changes in skeletal form. Naturally the peak bone mass is achieved in the third decade of life, meaning the bones are at their strongest state in human development. Bone remodeling, a response to micro trauma and stress on the bone, is a dynamic process that also occurs through life. Bone is composed of collagen type 1, a protein, minerals such as calcium and phosphate and bone forming cells (osteoblasts and osteocytes) as wells as bone resorbing cells known as osteoclasts. Calcium is a main contributor of bone strength. In fact 99% of calcium is stored in bones and teeth with one percent remaining in the blood. The process of bone remodeling is activated by stressors such as weight bearing and is necessary to maintain bone mass in an adult. It’s a dynamic process in which bone resorption is always

Bones contain collagen (protein), calcium salts and other minerals. Each bone is made up of a thick outer shell known as cortical bone and a strong inner mesh of trabecular bone which looks like a honeycomb. Bone is alive and constantly changing throughout life. Old, worn out bone is broken down by cells called osteoclasts and replaced by bone building cells called osteoblasts. In childhood, osteoblasts work faster, enabling the skeleton to increase in size, density and strength. During this period of rapid bone growth, it takes the skeleton just two years to completely renew itself. In adults this process takes seven to ten years.

Taphonomy is described as the study of the stages of decomposition that lead to fossilization and it originates from a subsection of Forensic Anthropology. All over the world there are various taphonomic facilities, dedicated to the study of decay in both humans and animals, most notably pigs. These facilities are founded to help Scientists gain an understanding of how human decomposition progresses in various simulated conditions that are comparable to the conditions found at different crime scenes. The information gained through this research is vital in enabling Pathologists and Forensic Anthropologists to make advances in determining the time of death of recovered bodies. This essay will cover the similarities between human and pig decomposition and consider whether pig taphonomic facilities are a valid source of data to be used in the place of human taphonomic facilities.

Bone at the tissue level undergoes remodeling: it is continuously being resorbed and rebuilt (or formed). A negative balance between bone resorption and formation, frequently due to excessive resorption, is the basis of many bone diseases.