Dead Men Do Tell Tales

When people are murdered, there are many steps that lead to putting their body to rest. In some cases, the body must be found, and the killer must be punished for their act. However, it isn’t always simple to do this. Forensic anthropology may come into play here. A forensic anthropologist could examine the bones and find hints as to who the murderer was. A very famous anthropologist, William R. Maples, wrote an autobiography describing different cases where he did that very thing. Dead Men Do Tell Tales, a collection of stories that are humorous, dark and puzzling is a novel that brings light on the daily life of a forensic anthropologist.
This novel was not what I had expected. My first impression, based only by the cover of the book, was …show more content…
He was discussing his experience of capturing baboons. These animals were to have experiments ran on them. Dr. Maples very obviously admired the intelligence of these animals, as well as their culture. I was still early in the novel at this point, and I had the impression that he had virtually no emotions. However, this shot that to the ground. The author explained that they would have to trick the animals into the cage, and the did so by placing maize in their cage and closed the door when the entered. The baboons would need to be tranquilized, of course. The team of capturers used an experimental drug called phencyclidine. This drug is the main ingredient in the drug PCP. This case made me think. In the past, when this instance took place, would look extremely unethical in comparison to what we do now. This led me to consider what scientists and doctors, about 60 years in the future, will think of our medical practices …show more content…
I do not know much about art, but Dr. Maples spoke of him in a very positive way. In this chapter, the author was discussing what goes on at the forensic anthropology conventions. Anthropologists from all over would meet and talk about some of the crazier cases they had and never got the chance to face. When discussing the death of the famous artist, the author expressed the speculation of his color technique was really just a result of digitalis poisoning. I won’t lie, I have no idea what that is. However, this reminded me of something I’ve read somewhere else. I believe that it’s common knowledge that Van Gogh suffered from depression. On the Internet, I had read that he had drank yellow paint in an effort to make himself happy. To him, as well as many others, yellow is a color that represents happiness. The man had poisoned himself in an effort to make himself happy, to color his insides with elation. This is very deep, in my opinion.My overall opinion on this novel was that it was great. At the beginning, it might seem boring. That’s only because he has to get the basic knowledge out in the open so that the rest makes sense. After you realize that each chapter is stuffed with cases and a common idea. I am a strong believer in annotating while reading, and since this novel has many references, it may help with your understanding of what Dr. Maples is talking