DIFFERENTIATION OF PERIMORTEM AND POSTMORTEM TRAUMA USING TAPHONOMIC INDICATORS

Skeletal remains discovered at a construction site in Georgia display classic ''butterfly'' fractures on several long bones. Although this f racture pattern is usually associated with perimortem trauma, in this case taphonomic indicators demonstrate that they can also occur on dry defleshed bone. Variations in bone color at the fracture sites indica te recent postmortem trauma. Analysis of the directions of force and p oints of impact indicates that the bones were most likely disarticulat ed when the trauma occurred.