ANT205H5 Lecture Notes - Soil Type, Grave Goods, Saponification
Document Summary
Increased odor: marbling of skin, skin slippage on extremities, end when perforation of insect activity. Active decay: enhanced insect activity, deflation of body activity, wet appearance, odor is strong, loss of body mass (-50%) Insects prepare to migrate away: corpse dry out, most flesh has been removed, odor begins to fade. Initial insects have migrated: new insect species arrive, bones, skin, hair, teeth, cartilage, odor is negligible. Remains: continuation of dry stage, mainly just bones and teeth, not much skin left, odor is faint or absent. If body is buried, the timeline would be longer than a body sitting on the surface. Aquatic burial elongates the timeline as well, and the bloated stage makes the body float. Increased the speed of timeline is in very humid conditions. Trauma to body makes the insects more attracted. Scavenging: broken in parts to accelerate decomposition. Covering: maggots don"t like direct sunlight so it has a higher activity level if it"s under a covering.
