Seasonal decomposition and the effect of clothing in Cape Town, South Africa.

ABSTRACT: Unidentified, unclaimed human remains are a substantial problem in many developing nations, including South Africa. Most forensic cases in Cape Town involve clothed individuals found in thicketed environments. To assist in local medico-legal death investigations, we gathered taphonomic data on six clothed and four unclothed 60 kg porcine bodies as proxies for human decay. This study took place in Delft, Cape Town, over two summers and two winters to assess the impact of seasonal variation, using weight loss, extent of bloat, and vertebrate scavenging as assessment markers. In Cape Town's temperate climate, decomposition in the hotter, drier summer season occurred more rapidly than in the significantly colder and rainier winters, regardless of the presence of clothing (summer vs. winter: 18

SUBMITTER: Spies MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12584130 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature