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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1996

The wrong urn: commingling of cremains in mortuary practices.

Personal identification of human skeletal remains altered by the heat of crematory furnaces in modern mortuaries may be complicated by the presence of more than a single individual in a sample. When identification of cremains of neonates and young children is required in legal disputes, as in cases where relatives suspect that a funeral establishment has presented them with the ashes of another individual, the forensic anthropologist may be consulted by their legal representative. Problems to be considered in personal identification of cremated bodies are (1) presence or absence of commingled remains in a sample; (2) identification of one or more individuals present. Methods used in sorting and identifying neonate, infant and pre-adolescent remains include reconstruction of stature in situations where long bone diaphyses are preserved, as this may provide evidence of age at time of death, and assessment of dental crown development of unerupted and erupted deciduous teeth also for age determination. These procedures were used in the case reported here concerning mortuary practices of a funeral home and a family claiming that they were presented with the cremains of an adult and not those of their 15-hour-old daughter.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Mortuary practices at the Krapina Neandertal site.

It has often been reported that the Krapina Neandertal remains bear incised linear striations which appear to be cutmarks. Here, the plausibility of the striations as cutmarks is tested by comparing them to Mousterian butchery marks on large fauna and to cutmarks on modern human skeletons known to have been defleshed with stone tools. The anatomical location, gross appearance, and frequency of occurrence of the striations on the Krapina material do not resemble Mousterian butchery marks on reindeer. The Krapina striations do closely match authenticated cutmarks on 22 modern human skeletons defleshed with stone tools after partial decomposition, preparatory to secondary burial. Data are presented supporting the hypothesis that the striations on the Krapina Neandertal remains are consistent with postmortem processing of corpses with stone tools, probably in preparation for burial of cleaned bones.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Cut marks on the Bodo cranium: a case of prehistoric defleshing.

Cut marks were discovered on the Middle Pleistocene Bodo cranium from Ethiopia. The cut marks most closely resemble experimental damage caused by the application of stone tools to fresh bone. This discovery constitutes the earliest solid evidence for intentional defleshing of a human ancestor and offers new research avenues for the investigation of early hominid mortuary practices.

Ethiopia↗
PubMed2003

Stratigraphic, chronological and behavioural contexts of Pleistocene Homo sapiens from Middle Awash, Ethiopia.

Clarifying the geographic, environmental and behavioural contexts in which the emergence of anatomically modern Homo sapiens occurred has proved difficult, particularly because Africa lacked adequate geochronological, palaeontological and archaeological evidence. The discovery of anatomically modern Homo sapiens fossils at Herto, Ethiopia, changes this. Here we report on stratigraphically associated Late Middle Pleistocene artefacts and fossils from fluvial and lake margin sandstones of the Upper Herto Member of the Bouri Formation, Middle Awash, Afar Rift, Ethiopia. The fossils and artefacts are dated between 160,000 and 154,000 years ago by precise age determinations using the 40Ar/39Ar method. The archaeological assemblages contain elements of both Acheulean and Middle Stone Age technocomplexes. Associated faunal remains indicate repeated, systematic butchery of hippopotamus carcasses. Contemporary adult and juvenile Homo sapiens fossil crania manifest bone modifications indicative of deliberate mortuary practices.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Universal precautions and mortuary practitioners: influence on practices and risk of occupationally acquired infection.

Embalming, the most common funeral practice in the United States, may expose the embalmer to infectious diseases and blood. We surveyed the 860 members of the National Selected Morticians in 1988 to estimate the incidence of self-reported occupational contact with blood and infectious disease, assess morticians' knowledge of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), determine their adherence to universal precautions, and identify predictors of practices designed to reduce risk of occupational exposure to infections. Of 539 (63%) respondents, 212 (39%) reported needle-stick injuries in the past 12 months, and 15 (3%) reported percutaneous exposures to the blood of a decedent with AIDS. Those rating the risk of occupationally acquired human immunodeficiency virus infection as very high or high (194/539 [36%]) were more likely to decline funerals of decedents with antemortem diagnosis of AIDS (59/194 [30%]) and/or to charge more for such funerals (133/194 [69%]) than those who rated the risk as low to moderate (31/345 [9%], 174/135 [51%]).

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1992

Attitudes of funeral directors and embalmers toward autopsy.

Although physician and family attitudes toward autopsy have been suggested as factors leading to declining autopsy rates, attitudes of funeral directors and embalmers toward autopsy have not been studied. We surveyed members of the Illinois Funeral Directors Association concerning beliefs about the purposes of autopsy, problems they experienced with autopsied cases, and the advice they gave to family members about permitting autopsy. Three hundred eight (42.2%) of 730 funeral directors and embalmers responded to the questionnaire. Although 80.3% believed that autopsy served a purpose, 46.4% had counseled families not to permit autopsy, and 16.6% did so more than half the time. Perceived difficulty in embalming autopsied cases (odds ratio, 2.3), family concern about the risk of disfigurement (odds ratio, 1.9 to 2.2), having attempted to talk to a pathologist or hospital administrator about a poorly performed autopsy (odds ratio, 2.0), and belief in the purpose of autopsy (odds ratio, 0.38), were significant independent predictors of counseling against autopsy. Of funeral directors who counseled against autopsy, 28.3% reported that families never permitted autopsy, and 39.4% reported that families only occasionally permitted autopsy, in cases where they had counseled against it. Funeral directors from Illinois counties with 1989 medical certificate case autopsy rates of less than 5% counseled against autopsy more frequently than funeral directors from counties with higher autopsy rates. We conclude that although most funeral directors and embalmers believe in the purposes of the autopsy, difficulties in embalming autopsied cases, and family concern about the risk of disfigurement, may lead members of the funeral profession to counsel against autopsy, and that such advice may influence families not to permit an autopsy.

Attitude↗