skulls even talked to him to inform him as to what kind of hammer was used to kill her.In the chapter Bolts of Bones is where we get a detailed description of what happens to the body upon death, from being overcome by bacteria to the fact that we could emit a blue flame due to the gas buildup in our bodies, and who could forget the smell! Who better to give a true picture of death than a Forensic Anthropologist! The most important lesson I took from this was the two processes involved in decomposition, autolysis, and putrefaction. Autolysis occurs after death when digestive juices, which when you are alive only digest food, begin to digest the intestinal tract. Within hours, your stomach and esophagus is eaten. Putrefaction occurs as a result of bacterial activity throughout the body and goes through the lifeless body like a silent fire. He also describes his laboratory at the C. A. Pound Human Identification Laboratory of the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida in great detail. I envisioned a cold place surrounded by silence. Although this part was a little slow, I respected his admiration of his work place and compared it to how a man looks at his workshop, making sure no one touches his things as a father would not allow the use of his tools by his young son. He offers his sarcasm with his story of his run-in with the Piltdown Man. In my opinion, this chapter shows how professional Dr. Maples really is.The Enfolding Earth is a descriptive chapter about Dr. Maples participation in exhumations. One learns from the activities of maggots to the importance of the burial container. Of course, one cannot forget the general rule of decomposition: one week in the open air equals two weeks in the water, equals eight weeks underground (48). If I dont remember anything else from this class, Im sure this will stay with me at least until grade time.Once again Maples shows his sarcasm with the quote from The...
