Multimethod Forensic Sedimentology to Address Heritage Crime

Summary

This is an abstract from the "The Intersection of Archaeological Science and Forensic Science" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

As memories of World War II waned and the sixties swang, anthropologists developed a healthy distrust of State interests in our field. Relegated to the kids’ table, anthropologists disengaged from the State for many decades. Among the consequences of our broad professional disdain for officialdom is an inattention to cultural heritage crime. Here, we present initial results from a proof-of-concept study for forensic sedimentology in upland Arizona, a region of high heritage crime activity. Our forensics sedimentology team has re-invited archaeologists to the table, bringing robust analytic methods, courtroom-ready evidence, and the view that forensic archaeology involves more than dead bodies. We are complementing a context-specific focus on dirt (which is ubiquitous), with geomorphology, microscopy, petrography, and trace element analysis to assess and validate sediment provenience attributions. Petrography, for example, is providing information regarding specimen mineralogy, and may illuminate distinctive context attributes, such as snowmelt, and episodes, including flash floods. Multi-method sedimentology is an effective tool for linking objects or persons of interest to crime scenes. When these lines of evidence are synthesized and interpreted, a compelling case can be made for their efficacy in curbing and solving cultural heritage crimes.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• The Intersection of Archaeological Science and Forensic Science   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38542.0