Tissue preservation and projectile context in a Spanish Civil War victim

Abstract

Exhumations of mass graves containing the remains of those executed during the Spanish Civil War and the subsequent Franco regime are currently being conducted at the request of surviving relatives. This individual case report illustrates how soft tissue preservation, through copper ion contact in one particular victim aided in preserving the projectile in an anatomical context, thereby permitting the correct interpretation of the projectile’s path and angle, which otherwise would not have been possible as no bone tissue was affected. The information obtained has important relevance for human rights investigations and the work of the forensic anthropologist.