"Forensic" means in a medico-legal context. This means that texts or
sections of texts that discuss exhuming remains in archaeological sites
(i.e. Brothwell), do not refer to forensic archaeology. The context of the
exhumation is different, the protocols are different, the artifacts are
different, and at traditional archaelogical sites, the possibility of
exhuming fleshed remains is remote.

Physical anthro forensic manuals (i.e., Karin Burns') usually have a brief
discussion of how to exhume a body. For an archaeologist, these are
tantilizingly brief.

The two most commonly recommended, forensic works, are:
Skinner, Mark and Lazenby
1983 Found! Human Remains, A Field Manualfor the Recovery of the Recent
Human Skeleton. Simon Fraser University

Morse, Dan, Jack Duncan, and James Stoutamire
1983 Handbook of Forensic Anthropology and Archaeology.Rose Printing,
Tallahassee, FL.

Both are out of print and not available. Might try interlibrary loan. Both
are also now 20 years out of date. They pre-date the huge spate of human
rights exhumations in the 1990s and later and miss out on some of the
technological and methodological innovations developed during those
exhumations.

John Hunter, Charlotte Roberts, and Anthrony Marting, (1996) Studies in
Crime: An Introduction to Forensic Archaeology, has some very strong
discussions, such as the decay of remains section. As with all collections
of articles, treatment is spotty and not comprehensive. For my taste, the
section on locating remains puts too much emphasis on remote sensing
techniques. I've exhumed 100's of bodies and, to date, never found a grave
with GPR - and lots with a backhoe. Not that we shouldn't be aware of GPR
as a tool - but most remains will be found strong investigative techniques,
good witness information - and a probe, shovel or backhoe.

In "Archaeologists as Forensic Investigators" Historical Archaeology 35(1),
Doug Scott and I tried to give an overview of the roles archaelogists play
in forensic investigations (grave location, exhumation, artifact analysis).
As Dr. Ewen pointed out in an earlier message, this would be a reader more
than a text.

Whew....enough

Melissa Connor