Low-intensity burning effects on human skeletal remains: insights from a case study

Abstract

Background

The absence of sex, age-at-death, and stature estimation methods designed specifically for burnt skeletal remains may hinder, or even prevent, the identification process.

Case presentation.

The usefulness, applicability, reliability, and challenges of selected methods were reflected upon using a case study. The biological profile of a skeleton from an 81-year-old male individual was estimated before and after experimental heat exposure to compare method performance. The skeleton was experimentally burnt using an electric muffle for 42 min, reaching a maximum temperature of 413 °C. 

Conclusions

The low-intensity burning conditions resulted in charred bones with minor heat-induced changes; therefore, allowing the application of most of the methods. However, bone fragmentation represented a meaningful obstacle to the application of several methodologies. Despite suggesting a younger individual than the biological record, age estimations were congruent before and after burning. Sex was the most affected parameter, with the majority of the post-burning estimations pointing towards a female individual. Stature estimations were congruent before and after burning. Low-intensity burning conditions may not cause extreme skeletal damage but can still pose challenges to identification, underscoring the necessity of methods tailored for burnt remains.