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Macroscopic and stereomicroscopic comparison of hacking trauma of bones before and after carbonization

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Abstract

This experimental study examined lesions produced by a hatchet on pig femurs before and after carbonization. A total of 30 lesions were produced and analyzed using stereomicroscopy and then reexamined after carbonization. Not only was the sharp-blunt mechanism of the hacking trauma (V-shape, regularity of one edge, irregularity of the other edge, upraising, lateral pushing back, fossae dug laterally to the edge) still recognizable after carbonization; in some instances, the carbonization actually enhanced the features observed. Carbonization also did not significantly alter the measurements of the lesions. Carbonization tends to alter the structure of the bone especially in areas weakened by the blunt trauma.

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Acknowledgements

We wish to thank Gérard Page for his help and Marie-Catherine Francino for her relevant advice.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut Universitaire d’Anthropologie Médico-Légale, Faculté de Médecine, and CEPAM (CNRS 7264), Université Côte d’Azur, 28 Avenue de Valombrose, 06107, Nice Cedex 2, France

    Véronique Alunni & Gérald Quatrehomme

  2. Institut Universitaire d’Anthropologie Médico-Légale, Faculté de Médecine, Université Côte d’Azur, 28 Avenue de Valombrose, 06107, Nice Cedex 2, France

    Luísa Nogueira

Authors
  1. Véronique Alunni
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  2. Luísa Nogueira
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  3. Gérald Quatrehomme
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Correspondence to Véronique Alunni.

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Alunni, V., Nogueira, L. & Quatrehomme, G. Macroscopic and stereomicroscopic comparison of hacking trauma of bones before and after carbonization. Int J Legal Med 132, 643–648 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-017-1649-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-017-1649-8

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