The first book to specifically focus on the theoretical foundations of humanitarian forensic science Anthropology of Violent Death: Theoretical Foundations for Forensic Humanitarian Action consolidates the concepts and theories that are central to securing the posthumous dignity of the deceased, respecting their memories, and addressing the needs of the surviving populations affected. Focusing on the social and cultural significance of the deceased, this much-needed volume develops a theoretical framework that extends the role of humanitarian workers and specifically the actions of forensic scientists beyond an exclusively legal and technical approach. Anthropology of Violent Death is designed to inspire and alerts the scientific community, authorities, and the justice systems to think and take actions to avoid the moral injury in society and cultures due to grave disrespect against humanity, its memories and reconciliation. Humanitarian forensic science faces the role of mediator between the deceased and those who are still alive to guarantee the respect and dignity of humanity. Contributions from renowned experts address post-mortem dignity, cultural perceptions of violent death and various mortuary sites, the forms and critical effects of the so-called forensic turn and humanitarian action, the treatment of violent death in post-conflict societies, respect for the dead under International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and Islamic law, the ethical management of the death of migrants, and much more. In an increasingly violent world, this volume, develops a theoretical component for death management in scenarios where humanitarian action is required Facilities better understanding between the social sciences, the forensic sciences, and justice systems in situations involving violent death Discusses the latest theories from leading scholars and practitioners to enhance the activities of forensic scientists and authorities who have the difficult responsibility of making decisions It provides a better understanding of the humanitarian and cultural dilemmas in the face of violent death episodes, and the unresolved needs of the dignity of the deceased during armed conflicts, disasters, migration crises, including everyday homicides Anthropology of Violent Death: Theoretical Foundations for Forensic Humanitarian Action is an indispensable resource for forensic scientists, humanitarian workers, human rights defenders, and government and non-governmental officials.

Case studies on violent deaths from the past and present vividly illustrate how anthropologists construct meaning from the victim's bones.

The first book to specifically focus on the theoretical foundations of humanitarian forensic science Anthropology of Violent Death: Theoretical Foundations for Forensic Humanitarian Action consolidates the concepts and theories that are central to securing the posthumous dignity of the deceased, respecting their memories, and addressing the needs of the surviving populations affected. Focusing on the social and cultural significance of the deceased, this much-needed volume develops a theoretical framework that extends the role of humanitarian workers and specifically the actions of forensic scientists beyond an exclusively legal and technical approach. Anthropology of Violent Death is designed to inspire and alerts the scientific community, authorities, and the justice systems to think and take actions to avoid the moral injury in society and cultures due to grave disrespect against humanity, its memories and reconciliation. Humanitarian forensic science faces the role of mediator between the deceased and those who are still alive to guarantee the respect and dignity of humanity. Contributions from renowned experts address post-mortem dignity, cultural perceptions of violent death and various mortuary sites, the forms and critical effects of the so-called forensic turn and humanitarian action, the treatment of violent death in post-conflict societies, respect for the dead under International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and Islamic law, the ethical management of the death of migrants, and much more. In an increasingly violent world, this volume, develops a theoretical component for death management in scenarios where humanitarian action is required Facilities better understanding between the social sciences, the forensic sciences, and justice systems in situations involving violent death Discusses the latest theories from leading scholars and practitioners to enhance the activities of forensic scientists and authorities who have the difficult responsibility of making decisions It provides a better understanding of the humanitarian and cultural dilemmas in the face of violent death episodes, and the unresolved needs of the dignity of the deceased during armed conflicts, disasters, migration crises, including everyday homicides Anthropology of Violent Death: Theoretical Foundations for Forensic Humanitarian Action is an indispensable resource for forensic scientists, humanitarian workers, human rights defenders, and government and non-governmental officials.

Every year, there are over 1.6 million violent deaths worldwide, making violence one of the leading public health issues of our time. And with the 20th century just behind us, it's hard to forget that 191 million people lost their lives directly or indirectly through conflict. This collection of engaging case studies on violence and violent deaths reveals how violence is reconstructed from skeletal and contextual information. By sharing the complex methodologies for gleaning scientific data from human remains and the context they are found in, and complementary perspectives for examining violence from both past and contemporary societies, bioarchaeology and forensic anthropology prove to be fundamentally inseparable. This book provides a model for training forensic anthropologists and bioarchaeologists, not just in the fundamentals of excavation and skeletal analysis, but in all subfields of anthropology, to broaden their theoretical and practical approach to dealing with everyday violence.

This volume integrates data from researchers in bioarchaeology and forensic anthropology to explain when and why group-targeted violence occurs. Massacres have plagued both ancient and modern societies, and by analyzing skeletal remains from these events within their broader cultural and historical contexts this volume opens up important new understandings of the underlying social processes that continue to lead to these tragedies. In case studies that include Crow Creek in South Dakota, Khmer Rouge–era Cambodia, the Peruvian Andes, the Tennessee River Valley, and northern Uganda, contributors demonstrate that massacres are a process—a nonrandom pattern of events that precede the acts of violence and continue long afterward. They also show that massacres have varying aims and are driven by culture-specific forces and logic, ranging from small events to cases of genocide. Many of these studies examine bones found in mass graves, while others focus on victims whose bodies have never been buried. Notably, they also expand widely held definitions of massacres to include structural violence, featuring the radical argument that the large-scale death of undocumented migrants in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert should be viewed as an extended massacre. This is the first volume to focus exclusively on massacres as a unique form of violence. Its interdisciplinary approach illuminates similarities in human behavior across time and space, provides methods for identifying killings as massacres, and helps today’s societies learn from patterns of the past. Contributors: Cheryl P. Anderson | Cate E. Bird | William E. De Vore | David H. Dye | Julie M. Fleischman | Julia R. Hanebrink | Ryan P. Harrod | Keith P. Jacobi | Ashley E. Kendell | Krista E. Latham | Justin Maiers | Debra L. Martin | Alyson O’Daniel | Anna J. Osterholtz | Marin A. Pilloud | His Excellency Sonnara Prak | Tricia Redeker Hepner | Sophearavy Ros | Al W. Schwitalla | Dawnie Wolfe Steadman | J. Marla Toyne | Vuthy Voeun | P. Willey  A volume in the series Bioarchaeological Interpretations of the Human Past: Local, Regional, and Global Perspectives, edited by Clark Spencer Larsen

Case studies on violent deaths from the past and present vividly illustrate how anthropologists construct meaning from the victim's bones.

Death in the Anasazi culture of the American southwest Cases of trauma-related violent death among the Anasazi culture of the American Southwest have been documented since the beginning of archaeological study in the region. Researchers have reported these deaths as having been caused through violent activities associated with warfare, cannibalism, witch execution, and violence against women. Although trauma-related death has been discussed cursorily for a long period of time, in recent years it has received much attention as a legitimate study in and of itself. Several books have been written that focus on the subjects of warfare and cannibalism among the Anasazi. This study seeks to further the inquiry into violent death by comparing trauma-related death to non-trauma-related death in the Anasazi culture. Specifically, this study seeks to identify patterns of behaviour preserved in the archaeological record between those who died traumatically and those who did not among these prehistoric people.