Cremains, what remains

Impact paragraph 11
Context 11
Products 11
Scientific impact and relevance 12
Societal impact and relevance 12
List of abbreviations 15

Chapter 1 Introduction 17
1.1 Fire phenomena 18
1.2 Taphonomy of human remains in a fire context 21
1.3 Investigation of the burnt corpse 23
1.4 The analysis of thermally altered human skeletal remains 25
1.5 Goals and outline 30
1.6 Bibliography 31

Chapter 2 Temperature estimations of heated bone: a questionnaire-based study of accuracy and precision of interpretation of bone colour by forensic and physical anthropologists 37
Abstract 38
2.1 Introduction 38
2.2 Materials and methodology 40
2.2.1 Sample preparation 40
2.2.2 Online questionnaire 41
2.2.3 Statistical analysis 42
2.3 Results 43
2.3.1 Certainty 43
2.3.2 Accuracy & precision 44
2.3.3 Statistical analysis 46
2.4 Discussion 46
2.5 Conclusion 53
2.6 Bibliography 55

Chapter 3 Colourimetric analysis of thermally altered human bone samples 59
Abstract 60
3.1 Introduction 60
3.2 Materials and methodology 64
3.2.1 Sample collection and heating procedure 64
3.2.2 Data collection 65
3.2.3 Model development 66
3.2.4 Validation of the model 67
3.3 Results 67
3.3.1 Development of decision model 67
3.3.2 Validation of decision model 71
3.4 Discussion 72
3.5 Conclusion 76
3.6 Bibliography 78

Chapter 4 Mechanical or thermal damage, differentiating between underlying mechanisms as a cause of bone fractures 83
Abstract 84
4.1 Introduction 84
4.2 Materials and methods 88
4.2.1 Sample material and sample processing 88
4.2.2 Grouping of bones 89
4.2.3 Blunt force impact production 89
4.2.4 The burning experiment 90
4.2.5 Data collection via macroscopic and microscopic analyses 91
4.2.6 Measurement of angles 94
4.2.7 Colourimetric analysis 94
4.2.8 Statistical analysis and comparison with literature 95
4.3 Results 96
4.3.1 General observations for post-BFI fracture features – groups Control-BFI (B) and BFI & Burn (C) 96
4.3.2 General observations for post-Burning fracture features – groups Control-Burn (A) and BFI & Burn (C) 97
4.3.3 Colourimetric analysis 101
4.3.4 Dimensional changes 101
4.3.5 Statistical analyses of BFI and HIBF features between groups 103
4.4 Discussion 106
4.5 Conclusion 111
4.7 Bibliography 113

Chapter 5 Luminescence of thermally altered human skeletal remains 117
Abstract 118
5.1 Introduction 118
5.2 Materials and methodology 120
5.2.1 Sample preparation and heating experiment 120
5.2.2 Samples collected from a modern crematory 121
5.2.3 Visualisation and imaging 122
5.2.4 Excitation and luminescence interference 122
5.2.5 Scoring and statistical analysis 123
5.3 Results 125
5.3.1 Luminescence of thermally altered thin transverse cross-sections heated in air 125
5.3.2 Luminescence of thermally altered thin transverse cross-sections heated in adipose tissue 126
5.3.3 Luminescence of thermally altered thick diaphyseal sections and epiphyses heated in air 129
5.3.4 Comparison of the effectiveness of different ALS – long pass filter combination on thermally altered bone samples within a specific [temperature – duration] range, heated in air 130
5.3.5 Analysis of the remains collected after a modern cremation 131
5.4 Discussion 134
5.5 Conclusion 137
5.6 Bibliography 138

Chapter 6 Phosphorescence of thermally altered human bone 143
Abstract 144
6.1 Introduction 145
6.2 Materials and methodology 147
6.2.1 Sample collections, handling and heating procedure 147
6.2.2 Illumination 148
6.2.3 Phosphorescence index, analysis, and photographic documentation 148
6.2.4 Statistics 149
6.3 Results 150
6.3.1 Phosphorescence of thermally altered thin transverse cross sections (cortical bone) heated in air and adipose 150
6.3.2 Phosphorescence of thermally altered diaphyseal thick sections and epiphyses (periosteal bone) heated in air 151
6.3.3 Phosphorescence of remains collected after cremation and differences between photoluminescence and long-decay phosphorescence 151
6.4 Discussion 157
6.5 Conclusion 160
6.6 Bibliography 161

Chapter 7 Discussion 165
7.1 Cause and effect; what do we know about heat-induced changes of bone colour and luminescence? 166
7.1.1 The process of carbonization 166
7.1.2 The process of calcination 168
7.1.3 The effect of fat on the rate of HI-changes and heat transfer 169
7.1.4 The effect of exposure duration on the rate of HI-changes 170
7.1.5 Explaining the luminescent properties after exposure to heat 171
7.2 Practical implications 172
7.3 Legal value of evidence collected by the methods proposed in this publication 174
7.4 The role and position of the forensic anthropologist in the Netherlands 176
7.5 Bibliography 177

Summary 181
Appendices 183
Appendix I Supplement to chapter 3 184
Appendix II Supplement to chapter 4 189
Appendix III Supplement to chapter 5 192
Appendix IV Supplement to chapter 6 194

Artwork 199