Contribution of plant biology to the investigations of ancient and recent crimes against people and against the environment. Fields of application and the techniques: sampling, Lab procedures, analyzes, interpretation of the results. Potentials and limitations of different fields of research.
Forensic Botany. Principles and Applications to Criminal Casework. Edited by Heather Miller Coyle. CRC Press 2005.
Learning Objectives
Acquirement of the knowledge necessary for the identification of plant remains using different methodologies. Autonomy in sampling and analyzing in order to gather information. Ability to evaluate meaning and limits of the collected and processed data.
Prerequisites
None
Teaching Methods
Lectures
Further information
.
Type of Assessment
Final oral examination.
Course program
Botany and forensic sciences: how the study of plant biology contributed to the investigations of ancient and recent crimes against people and against the environment. Fields of application and the techniques. The stages of research and their critical issues: sampling, Lab procedures, analyzes, interpretation of the results. Potentials and limitations of the different fields of research. Criteria and techniques for the identification of plant micro-remains (pollen, spores, starch grains, phytoliths, microalgae, etc.) and macro-remains (leaves, seeds and fruits, wood, charcoals, etc.). Identification of plant components involved in food frauds or subjected to restrictions on possession and commerce. Techniques for the identification of the geographical origins of plant materials belonging to protected or non-marketable species and of the places of storage of materials. Dating and determination of the origin of timber through dendrological and dendrochronological methods. Location of crime scenes through palynological, limnological and plant macro-remain analysis. Reconstruction of the plant landscape of crime scenes or burial sites (with emphasis on recent war crimes).
Identification of possible causes of death by poisoning due to the ingestion of plants or fungi. Brief presentation of the principal toxic plants and fungi, included those containing psychoactive substances.
Forensic Botany applied to cultural heritage. Investigations related to the history of artefacts: identification of plant materials and their origin; dating of wooden artefacts; determination of processing environments. The contribution of forensic botany to the history of relevant artifacts.