Study Guide Flashcards
Name and describe 2 types of error in GPS and how they could affect the points that are given.
1.) Satellite errors:
- inaccuracies in the clocks
- drifts from predicted orbit
2.) Atmosphere:
- light speed is constant in vacuums but not here
- correction factor in receivers, but not enough; too complex atmospheric models
3.) Multipath error
- light reflected by obstacles; the signal arrives to the antenna through multiple paths
- direct signal arrives first (straight line), reflected ones later, adding noise
4.) Receiver error
- clocks and internal noise, due to weak electromagnetic shielding
5.) Selective availability (SA)
- US Department of Defense turned off May 1, 2000 example
What are some of the critical things obtained from an outdoor scene that you might not be able to determine in the lab?
- the forensic significance of evidence including the body, associated artifacts, and features of the scene
- Location, position, and orientation of all evidence relative to the scene
- sequence of events that occurred at the scene at the time of the death event
- CONTEXT and ASSOCIATION of human remains and other evidence
_______ _______ _______ is the scientific effort focused on the reconstruction of the history of events immediately surrounding the emplacement event of a deceased individual at an outdoor scene that is related to human actions and interactions.
Crime Scene Reconstruction
Define Main Concentration and Immediate Scene at the outdoor forensic scene.
Main concentration:
- defined as the area on the surface-scattered scene where the majority of the body and evidence is found (especially the torso– ribs and verts; and usually where elements are still intact and in anatomical arrangement; it is typically a reliable indicator of the original body depositional location
Immediate scene:
- defined as the area on the outdoor forensic scene that encompasses the main concentration of human remains and the farthest dispersion of associated evidence, such as isolated skeletal elements, in all directions; in practice, it can be described on scene as an oval or circle encircling the evidence
What is the definition of forensic taphonomy?
scientific study of human remains discovered in outdoor
contexts that attempts to reconstruct the history of the remains, from the time of emplacement at the scene to discovery
- focus is on understanding the timing, sequence, and details of events and the agents responsible for impacting (moving, removing, and altering) the human remains during that time interval, at that scene. Relies on the forensic comprehensive archaeological documentation of the scene and identification of all forensic taphonomic agents involved
Name 3 benefits of having a forensic archaeologist at an outdoor crime scene.
1.) document evidence before destroying the context
2.) less likely for small bones to be overlooked and missed
3.) can determine forensic significance on scene
What are the basic “rules” or (Steno’s) laws of stratification?
1.) Law of Superposition
2.) Law of Original Horizontality
3.) Law of Lateral Continuity
4.) Law of Intersecting Relationships
Which of the following are ways of collecting information at the scene?
a.) Photographs
b.) Plan-view maps
c.) Profile maps
d.) Field notes
e.) All of the above
e.) all of the above
How are forensic archaeology and regular archaeology different? (Give 4 examples)
1.) Time that has passed (days or years compared to decades and centuries)
2.) Condition of the biological material (fleshy)
3.) inclusion of the judicial concerns relative to chain of custody in forensic situations
4.) Taphonomic agents
How do you create a Planview map?
1.) Establish the datum
2.) Extend the baseline (second corner)
3.) Find the third corner
4.) Measure and plot points
5.) Illustrate the remains and relevant artifacts/features
What is estimated in the biological profile?
Basic biological parameters used to narrow down missing person’s list
What does “context” refer to at outdoor crime scenes?
place in time and space and includes both physical and temporal coordinates
What are some potential forensic taphonomic agents?
1.) animals
2.) insects
3.) plants
4.) weather
5.) temperature
What are some uses of GPS in forensics?
1.) Outdoor scenes
2.) Mass fatalities
3.) Human rights
Describe the box-o-bones approach to forensic anthropology.
A box of dry bones was shipped to forensic anthropologist after recovery by law enforcement with no consideration for scene or context; concerned primarily with providing biological profile
How does GPS generally work?
Each satellite transmits coded radio signals to the receiver on the ground, including very precise time of transmission based on atomic clock
What is DGPS?
Differential Correction for GPS (DGPS)
Which of the following is NOT a hypotheses component created by law enforcement that needs to be tested while on the scene?
a.) Who the deceased is
b.) Time frame
c.) The weather at the scene when the deceased was placed
d.) Sequence of events
c.) The weather at the scene when the deceased was placed
Why is “association” important in forensic archaeology?
a.) It is the linking of evidence to particular event and postmortem modifications
b.) Suggests that an artifact/feature/action was emplaced/enacted during the same specific event
c.) Both A and B
d.) Neither A nor B
c.) Both A and B
__________________________________ are focused on attempts to reconstruct a detailed picture of what has happened at an outdoor scene to a human body and associated evidence between the time of death and emplacement on the outdoor crime scene, and recovery.
Forensic taphonomy analysis and interpretations
Which of the following is not used to identify the biological profile?
a.) Estimation of sex
b.) Estimation of ancestry
c.) Estimation of stature
d.) Estimation of hair color
d.) Estimation of hair color
