Bone Biomechanics and Fractography: Observing Trauma Characteristics in Cases from Past American Conflicts

This thesis explores the potential of bone fractography for use in examining skeletal trauma in burial recovery, such as in the frequent casework of the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Accounting Agency. Many current methods for analyzing skeletal trauma rely on broader weapon-concentrated categories. This poses a risk resulting in trauma misinterpretations, limiting the accuracy of a forensic expert’s reconstruction of death events and, further, legal testimony. Fractography, an approach historically rooted in analyzing the fracture surfaces and composition of a material, can glean information about the ‘why and how’ of material failure by understanding its biomechanical properties and fracture surface features. This research hopes to provide the evidence to support the visibility trends of several fractographic surface features/characteristics in remains that have stood up to the harsh test of time and burial. Advisor: William R. Belcher