​Instructors: 
Dr. Hillary Parsons & Dr. Teresa 'Lilly' White
Course length:  24 hours

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Introduction: Law Enforcement officers, forensic personnel, and crime scene investigators are often called upon to investigate clandestine burials; and, if necessary-to excavate, under the supervision of forensic anthropologists. Time and resources are always limited. Therefore, it is crucial to understand what processes and techniques of evidence recovery are most efficient, yet thorough. Improper recovery techniques, however well intentioned, have the potential to destroy or leave behind valuable information that may compromise the investigation or hinder the identification process.
 
Course Objectives: Upon completion of this 3-day intensive course, attendees will have an awareness of the processes necessary to properly apply forensic anthropological methods to search for and recover human remains and other evidentiary items, from clandestine burials.
 
Course Topics Covered:
 

• Forensic Anthropology/Osteology/Taphonomy/Human Decomposition
• Establishing Forensic Context
• Locating, Excavating, and Recovering Human Remains and other evidentiary items.
• Skeletal Inventory/Minimum Number of Individuals (MNI)
• Report Writing/Court Testimony

 
Forensic Anthropology, Human Osteology, Taphonomy, Postmortem Changes, and Decomposition
 
Forensic anthropology incorporates concepts and methods from biological anthropology (the study of the physical aspects of humanity). Identifying unknown individuals is a key part of forensic anthropology. Anthropologists assist in identifications primarily by constructing a biological profile. This includes estimating age, sex, stature, and ancestry, as well as identifying specific characteristics, like diseases or injuries using their osteological knowledge.
 
Human osteology is the study of the bones of the skeleton, including their names, placement, articulations with other bones, visible features and so forth. Beyond recognizing the names of bones, forensic anthropologists must understand various aspects of the skeleton that help them to interpret osteological remains of medicolegal importance.
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Forensic taphonomy is the study of the postmortem changes to human remains, focusing largely on environmental effects—including decomposition in soil and water and interaction with plants, insects, and other animals. 
 
Forensic Anthropology, Human Osteology, Taphonomy, Postmortem Changes, and Decomposition topics to be included:
 

• Identification of human skeletal remains
• Basic siding techniques
• Minimum number of individuals (MNI)
• Process/stages of decomposition, time since death
• Natural Environment
• Decomposition
• Animal activity
• Entomological activity
• Gravity
• Concealment methods

 
Establishing Forensic Context topics to be covered include:
 

• Is it bone? 
• Is it human?
• If the Remains are Human, was a crime committed?

 
Forensic Anthropological Approaches to Locating, Excavating, and Recovering Human Remains topics include:
 

• Search Techniques Used in Locating Human Remains Outdoors
• Types of Outdoor Scenes
• Planning the Search
• Indicators to look for when searching for clandestine burials.
• Survey Tools and Techniques
• Selecting Mapping Framework
• Setting Limits and Datum for Mapping
• Scene Documentation and Photography
• Excavating and Recovering Human Remains and Associated Evidence
• Packaging and Storage of Human Skeletal Remains
• Interpretation and Reporting

 
Desired Outcome of Clandestine Burials: Locating and Excavating Buried Human Remains
 
Course Wrap-up and Assessment
 
 
Course Schedule:
 
Day 1: Introduction to Forensic Anthropology, Osteology, Taphonomy, and Forensic Context
 
Day 2: Clandestine Burial: Locating and Excavating Human Remains
 
 
Day 3: Clandestine Burial: Excavation and Recovery of Human Remains 

Dr. Hillary Parsons

Hillary Parsons, Ph.D., is a practicing forensic anthropologist specializing in the recovery and identification of human skeletal remains.  She received her Ph.D. in biological anthropology from the University of Tennessee, her M.A. in anthropology from the University of Montana, and her B.S. from Montana State University in her hometown of Bozeman, Montana.  Hillary has instructed short-courses of topics in forensic anthropology for the past 15 years, is a member of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists, and an Associate member of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Dr. Parsons is the sole-proprietor of her forensic anthropology-consulting firm, Odyssey Anthropology L.L.C., providing forensic anthropological and archaeological services at home and abroad.  Hillary regularly provides her expertise for law enforcement and other medicolegal entities on modern forensic casework.

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Dr. Teresa 'Lilly' White

Teresa ‘Lilly’ White, PhD, is a native Montanan.  She received her BSLS in 2005 from MSU-B, her BA in Forensic Anthropology in 2011, her MA in Forensic Anthropology in 2013, and her PhD in Anthropology in 2019, from the University of Montana.

Lilly and her husband, Stocky (also a PhD in Anthropology), are the owners of Bone & Stone Anthrosciences, L.L.C., where they provide Anthropological & Archaeological Consulting Services and Educational Workshops to Federal, State, County, Tribal, and City Law Enforcement Personnel, Coroners/Death Investigators, Chaplains, Public Safety Officers, Forensic Practitioners, Physicians and Nurses, Mental Health Practitioners, Funeral Personnel, International Emergency Services companies, and others.

She  teaches courses on: cultural and forensic anthropology, osteology, death investigations, death notification studies including compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma, human decomposition and entomology, thermal and explosives trauma on bodies, bone pathology and taphonomy, forensic recovery of scattered human remains, clandestine grave discovery and excavation, cold case investigations, end-of-life issues, grief facilitation, differentiating perimortem gunshot  trauma from blunt force, after a car fire,  autoerotic asphyxia (AeA), equivocal deaths, bloodstain pattern analysis, social determinants of health for sexual abuse victims, dark tourism, and other fascinating topics.

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