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Magno G, Zampieri F, Zanatta A. Lodovico Brunetti, the Unknown Father of Modern Crematorium. OMEGA-JOURNAL OF DEATH AND DYING 2023; 88:410-424. [PMID: 34505538 DOI: 10.1177/00302228211045203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
The cremation has been documented since prehistoric times and it was a common funerary custom until the advent of Catholicism. Falling into disuse, during XVII-XVIII centuries there were new movements to bring it back according to modern criteria, mainly due to hygienic reasons and cemeteries overcrowding. This also led to the prototyping of new crematory ovens to improve the ancient open-air pyre. Lodovico Brunetti was the first to carry out a crematory experimental research in the modern countries. Since Brunetti's studies were based on the study of ancient cremations, a comparison with a modern experience of reconstruction of archaeological cremation is presented to evaluate the validity of his crematorium oven. Furthermore, the social and religious aspects related to Brunetti's inventions and the revitalization of cremation shows how tools and technologies and also the cultural environment have evolved over the years, effectively accepting the cremation practice as an alternative to inhumation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Magno
- University Museums Centre CAM, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Fabio Zampieri
- Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Alberto Zanatta
- University Museums Centre CAM, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
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3
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Preliminary results of an investigation on postmortem variations in human skeletal mass of buried bones. Sci Justice 2019; 59:52-57. [PMID: 30654968 DOI: 10.1016/j.scijus.2018.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2018] [Revised: 07/05/2018] [Accepted: 08/05/2018] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Extreme fragmentation can complicate the inventory of human skeletal remains. In such cases, skeletal mass can provide information regarding skeleton completeness and the minimum number of individuals. For that purpose, several references for skeletal mass can be used to establish comparisons and draw inferences regarding those parameters. However, little is known about the feasibility of establishing comparisons between inherently different materials, as is the case of curated reference skeletal collections and human remains recovered from forensic and archaeological settings. The objective of this paper was to investigate the effect of inhumation, weather and heat exposure on the skeletal mass of two different bone types. This was investigated on a sample of 30 human bone fragments (14 trabecular bones and 16 compact bones) that was experimentally buried for two years after being submitted to one of four different heat treatments (left unburned; 500 °C; 900 °C; 1000 °C). Bones were exhumed periodically to assess time-related mass variation. Skeletal mass varied substantially, decreasing and increasing in accordance to the interchanging dry and wet seasons. However, trends were not the same for the two bone types and the four temperature thresholds. The reason for this appears to be related to water absorption and to the differential heat-induced changes in bone microporosity, volume, and composition. Our results suggest that mass comparisons against published references should be performed only after the skeletal remains have been preemptively dried from exogenous water.
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Gonçalves D, d'Oliveira Coelho J, Amarante A, Makhoul C, Oliveira-Santos I, Navega D, Cunha E. Dead weight: Validation of mass regression equations on experimentally burned skeletal remains to assess skeleton completeness. Sci Justice 2017; 58:2-6. [PMID: 29332692 DOI: 10.1016/j.scijus.2017.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2017] [Revised: 07/18/2017] [Accepted: 07/20/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
In very fragmentary remains, the thorough inventory of skeletal elements is often impossible to accomplish. Mass has been used instead to assess the completeness of the skeleton. Two different mass-based methods of assessing skeleton completeness were tested on a sample of experimentally burned skeletons with the objective of determining which of them is more reliable. The first method was based on a simple comparison of the mass of each individual skeleton with previously published mass references. The second method was based on mass linear regressions from individual bones to estimate complete skeleton mass. The clavicle, humerus, femur, patella, metacarpal, metatarsal and tarsal bones were used. The sample was composed of 20 experimentally burned skeletons from 10 males and 10 females with ages-at-death between 68 and 90years old. Results demonstrated that the regression approach is more objective and more reliable than the reference comparison approach even though not all bones provided satisfactory estimations of the complete skeleton mass. The femur, humerus and patella provided the best performances among the individual bones. The estimations based on the latter had root mean squared errors (RMSE) smaller than 300g. Results demonstrated that the regression approach is quite promising although the patella was the only reasonable predictor expected to survive sufficiently intact to a burning event at high temperatures. The mass comparison approach has the advantage of not depending on the preservation of individual bones. Whenever bones are intact though, the application of mass regressions should be preferentially used because it is less subjective.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Gonçalves
- Research Centre for Anthropology and Health, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim Freitas, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal; Archaeosciences Laboratory, Directorate General for Cultural Heritage and LARC/CIBIO/InBIO, Rua da Bica do Marquês 2, 1300-087 Lisboa, Portugal; Centre for Functional Ecology, Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim Freitas, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal.
| | - J d'Oliveira Coelho
- Centre for Functional Ecology, Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim Freitas, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - A Amarante
- Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim Freitas, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - C Makhoul
- Centre for Functional Ecology, Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim Freitas, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - I Oliveira-Santos
- Research Centre for Anthropology and Health, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim Freitas, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal; Centre for Functional Ecology, Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim Freitas, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - D Navega
- Centre for Functional Ecology, Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim Freitas, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - E Cunha
- Centre for Functional Ecology, Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim Freitas, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal; Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim Freitas, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
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5
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Gonçalves D, d'Oliveira Coelho J, Acosta MA, Coelho C, Curate F, Ferreira MT, Gouveia M, Makhoul C, Pinto D, Oliveira-Santos I, Vassalo AR, Navega D, Cunha E. One for all and all for one: Linear regression from the mass of individual bones to assess human skeletal mass completeness. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2016; 160:427-32. [PMID: 27059103 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2015] [Revised: 02/16/2016] [Accepted: 02/24/2016] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Complete and accurate human skeletal inventory is seldom possible in archaeological and forensic cases involving severe fragmentation. In such cases, skeletal mass comparisons with published references may be used as an alternative to assess skeletal completeness but they are too general for a case-by-case routine analysis. The objective is to solve this issue by creating linear regression equations to estimate the total mass of a skeleton based on the mass of individual bones. MATERIALS AND METHODS Total adult skeletal mass and individual mass of the clavicle, humerus, femur, patella, carpal, metacarpal, tarsal, and metatarsal bones were recorded in a sample of 60 skeletons from the 21st century identified skeletal collection (University of Coimbra). The sample included 32 females and 28 males with ages ranging from 31 to 96 years (mean = 76.4; sd = 14.8). Skeletal mass linear regression equations were calculated based on this sample. RESULTS The mass of individual bones was successfully used to predict the approximate total mass of the adult skeleton. The femur, humerus, and second metacarpal were the best predictors of total skeletal mass with root mean squared errors ranging from 292.9 to 346.1 g. DISCUSSION Linear regression was relatively successful at estimating adult skeletal mass. The non-normal distribution of the sample in terms of mass may have reduced the predictive power of the equations. These results have clear impact for bioanthropology, especially forensic anthropology, since this method may provide better estimates of the completeness of the skeleton or the minimum number of individuals. Am J Phys Anthropol 160:427-432, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Gonçalves
- Research Centre for Anthropology and Health (CIAS), Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim Freitas, Coimbra, 3000-456, Portugal.,Archaeosciences Laboratory, Directorate General for Cultural Heritage and LARC/CIBIO/InBIO, Rua da Bica do Marquês 2, Lisboa, 1300-087, Portugal.,Centre for Functional Ecology, Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim Freitas, Coimbra, 3000-456, Portugal
| | - João d'Oliveira Coelho
- Centre for Functional Ecology, Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim Freitas, Coimbra, 3000-456, Portugal
| | - Maria A Acosta
- Centre for Functional Ecology, Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim Freitas, Coimbra, 3000-456, Portugal
| | - Catarina Coelho
- Centre for Functional Ecology, Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim Freitas, Coimbra, 3000-456, Portugal
| | - Francisco Curate
- Research Centre for Anthropology and Health (CIAS), Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim Freitas, Coimbra, 3000-456, Portugal.,Interdisciplinary Center for Archaeology and Evolution of Human Behavior, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal
| | - Maria Teresa Ferreira
- Research Centre for Anthropology and Health (CIAS), Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim Freitas, Coimbra, 3000-456, Portugal.,Centre for Functional Ecology, Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim Freitas, Coimbra, 3000-456, Portugal.,Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim Freitas, Coimbra, 3000-456, Portugal
| | - Márcia Gouveia
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim Freitas, Coimbra, 3000-456, Portugal
| | - Calil Makhoul
- Centre for Functional Ecology, Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim Freitas, Coimbra, 3000-456, Portugal
| | - Débora Pinto
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim Freitas, Coimbra, 3000-456, Portugal
| | - Inês Oliveira-Santos
- Centre for Functional Ecology, Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim Freitas, Coimbra, 3000-456, Portugal
| | - Ana R Vassalo
- Centre for Functional Ecology, Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim Freitas, Coimbra, 3000-456, Portugal
| | - David Navega
- Centre for Functional Ecology, Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim Freitas, Coimbra, 3000-456, Portugal
| | - Eugénia Cunha
- Centre for Functional Ecology, Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim Freitas, Coimbra, 3000-456, Portugal.,Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim Freitas, Coimbra, 3000-456, Portugal
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Gonçalves D, Cunha E, Thompson TJU. Weight references for burned human skeletal remains from Portuguese samples. J Forensic Sci 2013; 58:1134-1140. [PMID: 23822840 DOI: 10.1111/1556-4029.12167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2012] [Revised: 06/22/2012] [Accepted: 07/01/2012] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Weight is often one of the few recoverable data when analyzing human cremains but references are still rare, especially for European populations. Mean weights for skeletal remains were thus documented for Portuguese modern cremations of both recently deceased individuals and dry skeletons, and the effect of age, sex, and the intensity of combustion was investigated using both multivariate and univariate statistics. The cremains from fresh cadavers were significantly heavier than the ones from dry skeletons regardless of sex and age cohort (p < 0.001 to p = 0.003). As expected, males were heavier than females and age had a powerful effect in female skeletal weight. The effect of the intensity of combustion in cremains weight was unclear. These weight references may, in some cases, help estimating the minimum number of individuals, the completeness of the skeletal assemblage, and the sex of an unknown individual.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Gonçalves
- Research Centre for Anthropology and Health (CIAS), Universidade de Coimbra, Rua do Arco da Traição, Coimbra, 3000-056, Portugal
- Forensic Sciences Centre (CENCIFOR), Largo da Sé Nova, Coimbra, 3000-213, Portugal
- Laboratório de Arqueociências, Direção-Geral do Património Cultural and LARC/CIBIO/InBIO, Rua da Bica do Marquês 2, Lisboa, 1300-087, Portugal
| | - Eugénia Cunha
- Forensic Sciences Centre (CENCIFOR), Largo da Sé Nova, Coimbra, 3000-213, Portugal
| | - Tim J U Thompson
- School of Science & Engineering, Teesside University, Borough Road, Middlesbrough, TS1 3BA, U.K
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