Death by Gunshot Wound: A Survey of Past and Present Skeletal Cases
Abstract:
Homicides and suicides are two manners of death that often involve gunshot wounds. The actual wound varies based on both the type of gun used and the distance from or location of impact the bullet made on the human body. When a bullet impacts bone, it leaves a pattern of injury that allows an anthropologist to evaluate these factors. This paper will focus on the patterns of injuries that might appear from gunshot wounds to the skull. Archaeologically, cranial gunshot wounds tend to involve bevelling at the entrance and exit wounds. A case from Victorian London showed how easy it was to mistake a homicide for a suicide. A wide variety of wounds from the Battle of Little Bighorn showed ________. Today’s variety of guns and bullets complicate analysis for medicolegal investigations. For example, in one case an exit wound still contained an intact bone plug. Forensic anthropologists need to know ____________ to interpret such wounds.
Introduction:
“The weapon used most often with homicidal intent in modern American urban society is a firearm (Adelson 1974:188).” In the United States of America, more civilians are killed using guns in an average two-year period than the number of American soldiers that were killed between 1955 and 1975 during the …show more content…
Depending, however, on the angle of impact, bullet stability, and bone morphology, among other things, the entrance defect can take a variety of other shapes and may exhibit bevelling other than internal. Exit wounds often tend to be much larger and more irregularly shaped than entrance wounds for a number of reasons. For example, the bullet may become misshapen or ‘mushroomed’ from the initial bone strike or the bullet may no longer be moving along a straight trajectory, or the projectile may be tumbling
Abstract:
Homicides and suicides are two manners of death that often involve gunshot wounds. The actual wound varies based on both the type of gun used and the distance from or location of impact the bullet made on the human body. When a bullet impacts bone, it leaves a pattern of injury that allows an anthropologist to evaluate these factors. This paper will focus on the patterns of injuries that might appear from gunshot wounds to the skull. Archaeologically, cranial gunshot wounds tend to involve bevelling at the entrance and exit wounds. A case from Victorian London showed how easy it was to mistake a homicide for a suicide. A wide variety of wounds from the Battle of Little Bighorn showed ________. Today’s variety of guns and bullets complicate analysis for medicolegal investigations. For example, in one case an exit wound still contained an intact bone plug. Forensic anthropologists need to know ____________ to interpret such wounds.
Introduction:
“The weapon used most often with homicidal intent in modern American urban society is a firearm (Adelson 1974:188).” In the United States of America, more civilians are killed using guns in an average two-year period than the number of American soldiers that were killed between 1955 and 1975 during the …show more content…
Depending, however, on the angle of impact, bullet stability, and bone morphology, among other things, the entrance defect can take a variety of other shapes and may exhibit bevelling other than internal. Exit wounds often tend to be much larger and more irregularly shaped than entrance wounds for a number of reasons. For example, the bullet may become misshapen or ‘mushroomed’ from the initial bone strike or the bullet may no longer be moving along a straight trajectory, or the projectile may be tumbling