Haglund W D, Reay D T, Swindler D R
King County Medical Examiner's Office, Seattle, WA.
J Forensic Sci. 1989 May;34(3):587-606.
Greater understanding of animal scavenging of human remains can assist forensic science investigators in locating and recovering dispersed skeletal elements, in recognizing damage produced by scavengers, and in making more informed estimates of the postmortem interval. The pattern of skeletal damage can indicate whether the body was scavenged while intact or at some time after other natural processes of disarticulation had begun. This study analyzed thirty partially to fully skeletonized human remains with respect to scavenging at the time of body discovery in order to determine if a patterned consumption sequence existed. The scavengers were primarily coyotes (Canis latrans) and domestic dogs (C. familiaris). Sixteen non-carnivore-scavenged remains were also examined and contrasted with the carnivore-scavenged sample. Observed postmortem intervals from death to recovery ranged from 4 h to 52 months. Results demonstrate that canid scavenging of human remains takes place in sequential stages: Stage 0 = no bony involvement; Stage 1 = ventral thorax damaged and one or both extremities removed; Stage 2 = lower extremity involvement; Stage 3 = only vertebral segments remain articulated; and Stage 4 = total disarticulation. Results revealed a clear correspondence between stages of disarticulation and the postmortem interval.
对动物啃食人类遗骸的更深入了解有助于法医科学调查人员定位和找回散落的骨骼元素，识别食腐动物造成的损伤，并更准确地估计死后间隔时间。骨骼损伤的模式可以表明尸体是在完整时被食腐动物啃食，还是在其他自然关节分离过程开始后的某个时间被啃食。本研究分析了30具部分或完全骨骼化的人类遗骸在被发现时的食腐情况，以确定是否存在有规律的啃食顺序。食腐动物主要是郊狼（犬属）和家犬（犬属）。还检查了16具未被食肉动物啃食的遗骸，并与被食肉动物啃食的样本进行了对比。观察到的从死亡到找回的死后间隔时间为4小时至52个月。结果表明，犬科动物对人类遗骸的啃食分阶段进行：第0阶段=未涉及骨骼；第1阶段=胸部腹侧受损，一个或两个肢体被移除；第2阶段=下肢被啃食；第3阶段=仅椎骨节段仍相连；第4阶段=完全关节分离。结果显示关节分离阶段与死后间隔时间之间存在明显的对应关系。
