BUSM’s Pokines Edits New Taphonomy Textbook
James Pokines, PhD, DABFA, assistant professor in the Forensic Anthropology Program at Boston University School of Medicine, recently co-edited a groundbreaking reference book, Manual of Forensic Taphonomy. The word ‘taphonomy’ derives from ancient Greek, ‘tapho’ referring to ‘burial’ and ‘nomos’ to ‘laws.’ The book presents the first update in the entire field in more than a decade.
The field of taphonomy examines postmortem changes in bodies, for both recent forensic cases and archaeological/palaeontological research on more ancient remains. The work examines changes to bones caused by multiple forces, including the effects of marine and freshwater environments, scavenging, thermal alteration, and human ritual and cemetery practices. The inherent variations in bone structure and morphology affecting their differential survival and the survivability of DNA in varying environments are also examined.
Dr. Pokines has over a decade of experience as a forensic anthropologist and forensic archaeologist. He holds an undergraduate degree in anthropology and archaeology from Cornell University, advanced degrees in anthropology from the University of Chicago and ABFA board certification in forensic anthropology. His research includes vertebrate osteology, zooarchaeology, taphonomy and paleoecology, and he has ongoing archaeological projects in the Bolivian Andes (Tiwanaku and related sites), the Nile Delta (Tell Timai) and the Paleolithic of northern Jordan. He is also the forensic anthropologist for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Boston.