Born out of the need to recover, analyze, and present physical evidence on thousands of individual victims of large-scale human rights violations, multi-national, multi-disciplinary forensic teams developed a sophisticated system for the examination of human remains and set a precedent for future investigations. Codifying this process, Skeletal Trauma: Identification of Injuries Resulting from Human Rights Abuse and Armed Conflict describes an epidemiological framework for collecting, analyzing, and interpreting evidence for use at trial. It pieces together fragments of skeletal tissue and associated physical evidence to determine a mechanism of trauma that is factually based, methodologically scripted, and scientifically interpreted.
Providing a contextual background, the opening chapter discusses international forensic investigations into Human Rights violations through international tribunals and other emerging judicial systems. The second chapter presents protocols for systemic data collection and methods for the differential diagnosis of wounds to classify and interpret mechanisms of injury. Organized topically, the remaining chapters evaluate blasting injuries, blunt force trauma, skeletal evidence of torture, sharp force trauma, and gunfire injuries. Each chapter discusses wounding mechanisms, wound pathophysiology, relevant legal examples, and case studies.
Twenty-six leading scholars and practitioners from anthropology, pathology, and forensics contribute their research, cases, photographs, and extensive fieldwork experience to provide 16 representative case studies. Taken from human rights violations, ethnic and armed conflict, and extra-judicial executions throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia, all evidence in the examples is interpreted through an epidemiological model and set in a legal framework. Several of the exemplary studies, including those from the Balkans, have already been presented as evidence in criminal trials.
" The authors provide a comprehensive synthesis of skeletal trauma analysis. The presentation of case studies by practitioners with a wealth of experience in the analysis of human skeletal trauma from various countries (particularly those not typically represented in the English language journals), is a major contribution to the disciplines of forensic anthropology and pathology. There is good emphasis on the contextual background and its importance in evaluating findings. This reliance is at the same time a potential weakness, which those practicing in ordinary domestic environments recognize only too well. The evaluation of future events, hitherto hidden in the conduct of war or internal violence, will be substantially advanced by the existence of this book. The authors are to be congratulated and thanked for their work."
-- Professor Stephen Cordner, MA, MB, BS, BMedSc FRCPath, FRCPA, DMJ DipCrim. Stephen Cordner is the foundation Professor of Forensic Medicine at Monash University and Director of the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, Australia
..." a well-referenced, well-organized text ... an excellent pictorial guide illustrating each type of trauma encountered in skeletal analysis and demonstrating a systematic method to adequately document and interpret skeletal trauma. ... The case studies provide a realistic view of the difficulties facing an anthropologist working in subpar conditions and within an emotionally charged environment. ... The text is a valuable resource for both forensic anthropology students, as well as seasoned practitioners."
--J.C. Love, Harris Country Medical Examiner's Office, Houston, Texas, writing in Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology
" ... this book is interesting, is highly pertinent in today's socio-political climate, and is a noble effort to be applauded.
--Tim Thompson, School of Science & Technology, University of Teesside