A soil-based approach on human taphonomy from five Portuguese public cemeteries

ABSTRACT

Over the last decade, some Portuguese cemeteries have started to have issues with the lack of burial space, mainly due to the slow rate of cadaveric decomposition, hindering the reuse of soil graves as is common practice. To better understand the influence of soil on human taphonomy and help in cemetery management, the main goal of this research was to explore possible relationships between body decay and edaphic traits. A total of 217 soil samples were collected from graves of five public cemeteries and analysed for their soil organic matter content, moisture, pH, electrical conductivity, bulk density, texture, and colour. Five grave sampling areas were considered: the topsoil, above the coffin, and under the coffin in the head, pelvis and feet areas. Statistically significant differences have been found between the graves of skeletonized and incompletely skeletonized bodies for moisture above the coffin (p = 0.035) and for electrical conductivity in the topsoil (p = 0.014). Although the number of individuals (n = 56) studied might be considered low, this paper explores the possibility that soil itself might not be the main influencer on human taphonomy. A new perspective should be considered regarding the role played by intrinsic factors after death.

KEYWORDS:

• Exhumations
• human decomposition
• forensic anthropology
• forensic geology
• funerary practices

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The first author was financed by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia) with grant number SFRH/BD/143242/2019. This work was supported by the R&D Unit Centre for Functional Ecology – Science for People and the Planet (CFE) [financed by FCT/MCTES through national funds (UIDB/04004/2020)]. This work was also supported by the Applied Molecular Biosciences Unit – UCIBIO [financed by national funds from FCT (UIDB/04378/2020)].