Human Remains: Another Dimension. The Application of Imaging to the Study of Human Remains

205 Pages·2017·12.77 MB·English

by  David Errickson and Tim Thompson (Eds.)

Human Remains: Another Dimension
Human Remains:
Another Dimension
The Application of Imaging
to the Study of Human Remains
Edited by
David Errickson
Teesside University, Middlesbrough, United Kingdom
Tim Thompson
Teesside University, Middlesbrough, United Kingdom
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DEDICATION
For my parents and my grandparents.
—DE
For Becky (who is incredibly supportive) and Theo and Milo (who, if
I am honest, are less fussed but like the cover).
—TJUT
LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
Owen J. Arthurs
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust,
London, United Kingdom; UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of
Child Health, London, United Kingdom
Thomas Booth
Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom
Summer Decker
University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine, Tampa,
FL, United States
Jenna M. Dittmar
University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
David Errickson
Teesside University, Middlesbrough, United Kingdom; Cranfield
University, Cranfield, United Kingdom
Jonathan Ford
University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine, Tampa,
FL, United States
Ricardo M. Godinho
University of York, York, United Kingdom; University of Coimbra,
Coimbra, Portugal
Samuel J. Griffith
University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
Andrew D. Holland
University of Bradford, Bradford, United Kingdom
Patrick Mahoney
University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom
Nicholas Márquez-Grant
Cranfield University, Cranfield, United Kingdom
xii ListofContributors
Justyna J. Miszkiewicz
Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
Kieron Niven
University of York, York, United Kingdom
Paul O’Higgins
University of York, York, United Kingdom
Julian D. Richards
University of York, York, United Kingdom
Tom Sparrow
University of Bradford, Bradford, United Kingdom
Charlotte E.L. Thompson
University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
Tim Thompson
Teesside University, Middlesbrough, United Kingdom
Priscilla F. Ulguim
Teesside University, Middlesbrough, United Kingdom
Jacquie Vallis
Teesside University, Middlesbrough, United Kingdom
Rick R. van Rijn
Netherlands Forensic Institute, The Hague, the Netherlands;
Academic Medical Centre Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands;
Amsterdam Centre for Forensic Science and Medicine, Amsterdam,
the Netherlands
Mayonne van Wijk
Netherlands Forensic Institute, The Hague, the Netherlands
Marloes E.M. Vester
Netherlands Forensic Institute, The Hague, the Netherlands;
Academic Medical Centre Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands;
Amsterdam Centre for Forensic Science and Medicine, Amsterdam,
the Netherlands
Andrew S. Wilson
University of Bradford, Bradford, United Kingdom
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This book is the result of our shared work and interest in new and
innovative ways of studying human skeletal remains. It is the outcome
of countless discussions and conversations that we both had over the
past few years—and we thank everyone who has engaged with us
throughout this process. We would like to thank all of the contributors
to this volume for their time and their expertise in writing the individ-
ual chapters.
Likewise, thank you to all of those who helped get this book
through the manuscript editing phases. In particular we would like to
thank our team of peer—reviewers, including Gordon Taylor Wilson,
Kirsty Squires, Alexandra Wink, Matt Adamson, Claire Hodson,
Nicholas Higgs, Roslyn DeBattista, Naomichi Ogihara and Nicolene
Lottering.
We would also very much like to thank both Joslyn Chaiprasert—
Paguio and Liz Brown at Elsevier for their continued advice and
support from the beginning to the end of this project.
Finally, we would just like to note the valuable contribution that
the various cafes, coffee shops and tea rooms around Middlesbrough
have made during this process.
11
CHAPTER
Context
Tim Thompson
TeessideUniversity,Middlesbrough,UnitedKingdom
1.1 INTRODUCTION
1.2 HUMAN REMAINS—ANOTHER DIMENSION
REFERENCES
1.1 INTRODUCTION
It is often said that “a picture says a thousand words”; in fact this is a
phrase that is repeated so often that it has now slipped into cliché and
as such, is rarely considered in any great depth. Although it has been
attributed as an ancient Chinese proverb, its first use in the English
language occurred just over one hundred years ago in the Syracuse
Post Standard newspaper as part of a discussion on journalism and
publicity. It has been repeated countless times in countless forms since,
but always with the same intent—that displaying something visually
is a more effective means of explaining something than describing it
verbally or with the written word.
Indeed, it is possible to consider many different examples of where
this is true. It is the absolute basis for all effective marketing and
advertising—a concept which is vividly demonstrated in the M&C
Saatchi (2011) training manual, later to be developed into their publi-
cation Brutal Simplicity of Thought. Many aspects of our day-to-day
lives are also impacted by this philosophy, right down to how we dress
as we leave the house—for example, with work showing that the use of
imagery and color is vital in the communication of weather informa-
tion (Sherman-Morris et al., 2015). However, while this type of associ-
ation between imagery and products or concepts is often linked to
making money or influencing behavior, in other contexts the use of
imagery focusses on helping people to understand. An obvious exam-
ple of this would be within the medical context where imaging
HumanRemains:AnotherDimension.DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-804602-9.00001-1
©2017ElsevierInc.Allrightsreserved.
2 HumanRemains:AnotherDimension
modalities have been used and developed for many years with the aim
of allowing clinicians to detect, diagnose, and treat a variety of medical
conditions and problems which had previously been impossible. Often
we think of the use of X-rays or CT scans, but equally, creative use of
the more straightforward standard photography also continues to offer
much in surgical contexts (Murphy et al., 2016). At a larger scale, the
Satellite Sentinel Project (http://www.satsentinel.org/) has allowed
those working within international criminal and humanitarian law con-
texts to image and visualize sites of mass violence and extrajudicial
killings through the use of satellite remote imaging. This has facilitated
a greater understanding of conflict at a regional and national level in a
way which has not been possible before. Novel approaches to imaging
and visualization also have the benefit of allowing nonexperts or those
physically distanced from the object a greater chance of understanding
it. Museums have been keen to exploit this and a vast array of cultural
objects are now available to view and study through online portals (see,
e.g., the interactive Smithsonian X 3D facility at https://3d.si.edu/).
It must be noted however, that a picture on its own does not always
assist one to understand a given topic. Research has demonstrated that
without any associated commentary, visualizations of complex data
are as difficult to understand as the raw data itself (Stofer, 2016). As a
further example, within the learning and teaching context students of
human anatomy and physiology who use physical plastic models can
achieve higher exam scores than those who use virtual images of
the body (Lombardi et al., 2014), while those teaching osteology have
consistently argued that digital images are not as effective for learning
as actual skeletal specimens (Betts et al., 2011; Niven et al., 2009). As
with many new developments, a degree of caution is worthwhile as
new methods and techniques are adopted into practice.
Across the sciences the development of innovative methods of imag-
ing and visualization has led to a greater understanding of our bodies.
The anatomical sciences are a wonderful example of this, with the
internal workings of the body being recorded first through hand draw-
ings, then photography, then microscopic photography, and now full
three-dimensional imaging of everything from bone cells up to entire
systems (e.g., see the likes of Alers-Hankey and Chisholm, 2006;
Rifkin et al., 2006). However, for some disciplines, the very images
themselves are open to question. Within the forensic sciences, there has
Context 3
historically been much discussion regarding the acceptance and admis-
sion of color and then digital photography from crime scenes into the
courtroom (Thompson, 2008), while current debate focusses on the
admissibility of 3D digitizations largely from the perspective of valida-
tion of methods and the CSI Effect on jurors (Errickson et al., 2014).
1.2 HUMAN REMAINS—ANOTHER DIMENSION
Human remains are studied and analyzed in a wide range of disciplines
as researchers attempt to understand more about our bodies, our past,
and our societies. In recent years, there has been an increased interest
in new methods and approaches to visualizing aspects of the human
body and ways in which this can be applied to new and developing
disciplines. The aim of this volume is to explore this new frontier of
human study by examining the application of a number of imaging
and visualization approaches and methodologies to human remains in
varying conditions from diverse contexts. We have three key themes
that our contributors have brought together within each chapter—a
method of imaging, an interesting context of application, and a practi-
cal consideration associated with the visualization of human remains.
With this in mind, each chapter explores different methods,
contexts, and issues—thus each chapter touches upon different aspects
of the three key themes of the book.
The human body is a complex structure, and human osteologists
have been extremely comfortable in exploiting many new methods of
imaging and visualization in order to more effectively study people
from modern and ancient contexts. Booth provides a wonderful exam-
ple of this through the use of widely available low-powered microscopy
to assess bioerosion of buried archeological remains; this is followed
by Miszkiewicz and Mahoney who also use this approach to examine
bone histology to demonstrate how viewing bone from a different per-
spective can allow greater understanding of how a person lived their
life; Dittmar then applies high-powered microscopy in the examination
of trauma, in this case cut-marks on bone; Vallis then emphasizes the
important role of imaging human remains in disaster victim identifica-
tion contexts and the considerations of undertaking this; next, the
power of digital visualization in field archeology and in the interpreta-
tion of taphonomic factors is discussed by Ulguim; Errickson