title: Entomofauna of a buried body: study of the exhumation of a human cadaver in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
abstract: This study focuses on insects and other arthropods sampled on the exhumation of an infant skeleton belonging to 'Prof. Dr. Rómulo Lambre' skeletal collection. The body was buried in soil inside a wooden coffin in a grave 40cm deep, in autumn, and stored in the cemetery deposit after exhumation. Death records were obtained from the cemetery archive. Samples of faunal remains were recovered from wrappings, clothes, bones and soil samples, and were identified at different taxonomic levels depending on the stage of conservation. The dominant taxon was the muscid fly Ophyra aenescens (Wiedemann). The relationships among the identified taxa and the moving of the corpse, from the burial context to the cemetery deposit, are discussed and used to create a hypothetical colonization sequence after death. The application of entomological data to anthropological research can provide valuable information for the interpretation of taphonomic processes and burial contexts.
authors: División Entomología, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque, 1900 La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Electronic address: rmariani@fcnym.unlp.edu.ar.
authors: R
authors: R
authors: Mariani
authors: Cátedra de Citología, Histología y Embriología "A", Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Calle 60 y 120, 1900 La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors: R
authors: R
authors: García-Mancuso
authors: División Entomología, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque, 1900 La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors: G L
authors: GL
authors: Varela
authors: Cátedra de Citología, Histología y Embriología "A", Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Calle 60 y 120, 1900 La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors: A M
authors: AM
authors: Inda
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001118:Argentina; D001181:Arthropods; D002048:Burial; D004772:Entomology; D049249:Exhumation; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D018732:Forensic Anthropology; D006801:Humans; D008974:Mollusca; D011180:Postmortem Changes; D012987:Soil
chemical_list: D012987:Soil
keywords: Burial; Colonization; Exhumation; Sarcosaprophagous entomofauna