Forensic Science International 146S (2004) S203S205

www.elsevier.com/locate/forsciint

Recent advances in the study of burned bone and their

implications for forensic anthropology
T.J.U. Thompson*
Anatomy and Forensic Anthropology, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee,
Dow Street, Dundee DD1 5EH, Scotland
Available online 13 October 2004

Abstract
Human identification from burned remains is a common requirement of forensic anthropology, yet the techniques used are
devised for use on unmodified bone dimensions. Bone experiences extensive and significant heat-induced alteration which
decreases the accuracy and precision of identification methods. An holistic approach to the study of burned bone is adopted and
demonstrates the interconnectivity and hierarchy of these changes. It is demonstrated that these changes affect all forms of
anthropological technique.
# 2004 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Forensic science; Forensic anthropology; Burned bone; Heat-induced change

1. Burned bones and forensic anthropology

2. General heat-induced changes in bone

Within the forensic sphere, burned human remains are

recovered from a number of contexts, and Mayne Correia [1]
presents an exhaustive review of cases involving anthropologists. The forensic realm is not the only source of burned
material however, and cremated bone is not an uncommon
find in archaeological excavations. Indeed, in excess of some
ten thousand cremation burials have been excavated in
Britain during the last century [2]. Currently, anthropologists
use existing methods of estimating biological sex, age-atdeath, stature and ancestry on burned bone even though these
have been created for the use on unmodified bone. There has
been little discussion to date of the possible inaccuracies
inherent in this practice. This paper explores the modification of burned human remains through the process of heating
and examines the implications for anthropological techniques.

The heat-induced (H-I) changes in bone have been

categorised by Mayne Correia [1], modified by Thompson
[3] and are reproduced in Table 1. All heat-induced changes
(colour, mechanical strength, fracture patterns etc.) can be
placed within one of the four stages of H-I degradation.
These four stages in themselves do not explain all of the
fundamental causal changes occurring within hard tissues,
and to date are entirely theoretical.

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 1382 344220.

E-mail address: t.j.u.thompson@dundee.ac.uk.

3. An holistic experimental approach

An holistic approach was undertaken but it is not possible to expand upon the materials and methods here (see
[4] for great detail). Many techniques were used, which
examined different features of H-I change such as colour
change (digital photography, Munsell color chart), fracture
patterns (scanning electron microscopy, X-ray imaging) and
dimensional change (weight loss, mercury-intrusion porosimetry and small-angle X-ray scattering [5]). The benefit of

0379-0738/$ see front matter # 2004 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2004.09.063

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T.J.U. Thompson / Forensic Science International 146S (2004) S203S205

Table 1
The four stages of heat-induced transformation in bone
Stage of transformation

Evidence

Dehydration
Decomposition

Fracture patterns; weight loss

Colour change; weight loss; reduction in
mechanical strength; changes in porosity
Increase in crystal size
Increase in mechanical strength; reduction in
dimensions; increase in crystal size; changes in porosity

Inversion
Fusion

Existing temperature
range (8C)

Revised temperature
range (8C)

100600
500600

100600
300800

7001100
1000+

5001100
700+

Table 2
The influence of heat-induced change on anthropological techniques
Heat-induced change

Technique affected

Cause of effect

Colour change
Weight loss
Fracture formation

Metric
Metric
Morphological
and metric
Morphological
and metric
Morphological
and metric
Metric
Morphological
and metric

Indirectly: colour change implies loss of organics, which causes shrinkage

Indirectly: weight loss implies loss of organics, which causes shrinkage
Directly: increased fragmentation reduces likelihood of technique application

Changes in Strength
Recrystallisation
Porosity change
Dimensional change

Indirectly: weaker bone increases fragmentation, which reduces likelihood

of technique application
Directly: changes in microstructure may affect shape and will affect dimensions.
Indirectly: implies loss of organics and reorganisation of microstructure.
Directly: differential size changes may affect shape and will affect dimensions.

adopting a holistic approach to experimental work is that it is

possible to achieve a fuller appreciation of the problem being
investigated. Previous studies have focused on only one
particular aspect of H-I change (e.g. colour change or
fracture patterns) and in doing so not only neglect to establish the interconnectivity of these heat-induced phenomena
but also overlook the underlying causes of these features.
This is seen as a fundamental flaw of many of the previous
studies.

4. A greater understanding of burned bone

The techniques employed in this study have shown that
there is a two-tier system of H-I change: the secondary-level
manifestations (e.g. colour change) of the fundamental
primary-level changes (removal of the organic faction and
the reorganisation of the inorganic faction). New evidence
also argues for an intricate connectivity between the various
secondary-level changes and their primary-level origins and
for the replacement of the phrase heat-induced degradation
by heat-induced transformation. Subsequent statistical
analyses demonstrate a statistically significant level of H-I
dimensional change and that the removal of the organics and
the restructuring of the inorganics are the influential variables with regard to H-I change. In addition it has been
shown that all anthropological techniques will be affected by
H-I change (Table 2), temperature is not a reliable variable to
use for predicting said H-I change. Instead new variables

based on microstructural change (such as porosity and

crystal size) and the use of multi-variate prediction equations
are advocated.

Acknowledgements
This paper derives from a doctoral project undertaken in
the Departments of Forensic Pathology and Archaeology,
University of Sheffield, UK. It could not have been achieved
without the help, advice and time of Dr. Andrew Chamberlain, Dr. Martin Evison, Erika Petersen, Richard Stacey, Ian
Newsome, David Jarvis, John Proctor, Dr. Colin Smith,
Miranda Jans, Dr. Matthew Collins, Dr. Jen Hiller, Prof.
Tim Wess, and Dr. Becky Gowland.

References
[1] P.M. Mayne Correia, Fire modification of bone: a review of the
literature, in: W.D. Haglund, M.H. Sorg (Eds.), Forensic Taphonomy: The Post-mortem Fate of Human Remains, CRC Press
Inc., USA, 1997, pp. 275293.
[2] J.I. McKinley, Archaeological manifestations of cremation,
Archaeologist 33 (1998) 1820.
[3] T.J.U. Thompson, A preliminary investigation into the influence
of burning on the ability to sex the pelvis, unpublished M.Sc.
dissertation, University of Bradford, 1999.

T.J.U. Thompson / Forensic Science International 146S (2004) S203S205

[4] T.J.U. Thompson, An experimental study of the effects of
heating and burning on the hard tissues of the human body,
and its implications for anthropology and forensic science,
unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, University of Sheffield, 2003.

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[5] J. Hiller, T.J.U. Thompson, M.P. Evison, A.T. Chamberlain, T.J.

Wess, Bone mineral change during experimental heating: an
X-ray scattering investigation, Biomaterials 24 (28) (2003)
50915097.