Material Evidence Research Articles

The Role and Importance of Forensic Documents Examination in Making a Court Decision in Kosovo

Among the forms of international criminal assistance, document expertise has its place, as one of the acts of evidence whose results, in the form of expert findings and opinions, contribute greatly to the establishment of legally relevant facts in the proceedings and provide the basis and guarantee for an adequate adjudication of the criminal matter. Defining and unifying the criteria that are the assumption and guarantee of the reliability of the results of expertise is of crucial importance for the relevance and probative value of expert findings and opinions in criminal proceedings, both at the domestic and international levels. When talking about forensic examinations, it is a process that involves defining and applying appropriate standards, or rather the process of accreditation of forensic laboratories. Material evidence, in this case, arises from laboratory analyses through appropriate findings and opinions of competent experts employed in forensic laboratories, and permanent court experts. Regardless of the differences between them, modern criminal proceedings necessarily develop through the acceptance and assessment of evidence derived from laboratories that have a permit and are licensed to operate. This, on the other hand, implies standardization of equipment, validation of applied methods, as well as adequate education and training of laboratory staff and forensic experts, i.e. their accreditation and licensing.

Digital Uprising For Local Communities: The Case Of The Catpc White Cube In Lusanga

In 2017 the CATPC (Cercle d’Art des Travailleurs de Plantation Congolaise) founded the White Cube: an art museum built on reclaimed land, intended to “restore agency, capital, and visibility to plantation communities. From there, CATPC presents a program that not merely offers the public a beautiful spectacle, but it ensures that the utmost positive impact is made – both material (economic) and immaterial (historical memory)” (CATPC website). Since then, the league has been engaged in numerous activist curatorial projects, using analogue and digital means to create a personal artistic and territorial narrative. One project stands out: a series of NFTs, created in collaboration with Dutch artist Renzo Martens, disrupting museum ownership and restitution practices. These artworks, created from images of an original wooden statue symbolizing a local uprising against Belgian tax collectors, carved in the early thirties, represent a concrete way of reconnecting with the league’s heritage, history and future. Starting from this project, the paper researches the impact of digital technologies in strengthening territorial museological projects, discussing how the communitarian grounds of physical museum spaces can be empowered through digital infrastructures. Operating at the intersection between material evidence and virtual accessibility, digital cultural projects can often respond to identitarian meaning making needs, which cannot be met by analogue solutions. Opening the landscape of collective cultural production to a new version of rootedness, through the designs of marginalized and peripheral communities. Across the paper, questions of museum epistemological dominance and decolonial educational paradigms will be addressed, attempting to highlight the crucial characters of these new museological forms, emerging in the cultural field. Keywords: CATPC, Collective Memory, Digital Heritage, NFTs, White Cube.

Detection of ubiquitous circumbinary matter in hot subdwarfs formed from common-envelope ejections

ABSTRACT The formation of compact binary systems is largely driven by their evolution through a common envelope (CE) phase, crucial for understanding phenomena such as type Ia supernovae and black hole mergers. Despite their importance, direct observational evidence for CE material has been elusive due to the transient nature of these envelopes. Numerical simulations suggest that some envelope material may persist post-ejection. In this study, we investigate circumstellar material (CSM) surrounding hot subdwarf (sdB) stars, focusing on material ejected during the CE phase of binary evolution. We analyse Ca ii K absorption lines in 727 sdB candidates from the LAMOST-LRS survey, selecting 145 stars with strong absorption features, indicating the presence of CSM. We compare the velocities of the Ca ii K lines with the systemic velocities of sdB binaries, confirming that the material originates from ejected CE material. The results show that the CSM persists long after the CE event, suggesting the formation of a stable, long-lived circumstellar environment around sdB stars. This study enhances our understanding of the role of CSM in post-CE evolution and provides new insights into the physical processes shaping the evolution of sdB binaries.

Towards the photodeposition of SixGey-type materials via oligomers of cyclogermapentenes and cyclosilapentenes.

This article provides an alternative pathway towards cyclosilapentenes (e.g., SiH2-iPr and SpiroSi) involving the use of Rieke magnesium to activate the requisite dienes for synthesis. Subsequent metal-mediated dehydrocoupling of cyclosilapentene SiH2-iPr and mixtures with another cyclogermapentene gives oligomers with backbone Si-Si (number average molecular weight, Mn = 1.0 kDa) and Si-Ge (Mn = 1.4 kDa) linkages, respectively. UV-irradiation (248 nm) of the abovementioned oligotetrelenes and the molecular spirosilane SpiroSi were examined in solution; while evidence for SixGey-type materials was noted through Raman and EDX spectroscopy, the presence of substantial amorphous carbon as a contaminant was also observed. (TD)-DFT computational studies on the spirosilane SpiroSi provide some insight into the lack of efficient SixGey photodeposition noted in this study.

Archaeology and Catholic Things

Abstract: From rosaries and relics to resting places, material things and places have long been central to Catholic modes of prayer and veneration. This essay reflects on recent literature about Catholic materiality, as derived from the fields of archaeology and material culture studies. Focused on understanding the past and present through material evidence, studies show how beliefs, values, and spiritual experiences are encoded in Catholic sacra (holy things and places). Moreover, lived experience associated with Catholicism can be interpreted through the contextual analysis of everyday practices: religion shaped regional culinary traditions, medical practices, the design of yard spaces, and forms of bodily adornment. Thematically, this review addresses Protestant and Catholic attitudes toward material culture, ways that immigrants navigated devotional and political identities, European/Indigenous hybridity, postcoloniality, object agency and animism, and reconciliation through cemetery projects.

Bricks and Tiles as Lived Objects at Jesuit Missions

Abstract: Material culture and architecture have played an important role in sustaining Catholic communities in the United States and globally. Archaeologists' discussions of institutions emphasize how material objects contribute to institutions across time and space by providing the permanence and simplicity of message which can work across cultures. The material manifestations of the Catholic Church can be divided into sacred "inscribed" objects and common, everyday "lived" objects. This paper considers the role of "lived" objects in maintaining social control at missions by looking to archaeological evidence of ceramic architectural materials, specifically bricks and tiles, from English Jesuit missions in Maryland and French Jesuit missions in the Caribbean and South America from the seventeenth to the twentieth century. Bricks and tiles typically occur in repeatable forms with subtle variations in appearance, color, and texture and are preserved in the archaeological record. Approaching these material culture types through a comparative study in two regions considers how architectural materials contributed to the durability of the Church as these objects enabled both commonality and variation across Catholic mission properties.

Animal artefacts challenge archaeological standards for tracing human symbolic cognition.

Stibbard-Hawkes challenges the link between symbolic material evidence and behavioural modernity. Extending this to non-human species, we find that personal adornment, decoration, figurative art, and musical instruments may not uniquely distinguish human cognition. These common criteria may ineffectively distinguish symbolic from non-symbolic cognition or symbolic cognition is not uniquely human. It highlights the need for broader comparative perspectives.

Application of Infrared Spectroscopy Combined with Chemometrics in Material Evidence Analysis

Application of Infrared Spectroscopy Combined with Chemometrics in Material Evidence Analysis

Proposing the DN(C)-model of material evidence for well-calibrated claims about past cultures.

Stibbard-Hawkes presents a much-needed case for distinguishing between different types of evidence for cognition in past cultures. However, he does not outline an applicable approach for moving forward in making claims about the cognition of past cultures. We present an initial model for calibrating both absolute and comparative claims about past cultures' cognition and other traits.

Undoing manual labour: the performative force of female building workers

ABSTRACT Judith Butler’s influential writing on psychoanalytic, semiotic, linguistic and material-embodied gender performativity inspired a generation of geographers to advance critical understanding of labour and spaces of work. This paper adds to that progress by engaging with subsequent feminist, post-structuralist, materialist, and more-than-representational thinking that remains under-developed terrain for geographical studies of everyday work life. We offer ethnographic insights into on-site experiences of female building workers in China – career paths, labour practices, intimate spousal relations – evidence of (in)actions, trajectories, absences/presences, visual, vocal, linguistic, embodied, emotional, affective, material and (non)human registers of performative force. Overall, we explore more-and-less reflexive emerging, (re)surfacing, unfolding moments of meaningful, incongruent, incomplete, and contradictory ‘being’, ‘becoming’ and subjectivities ‘in-the-making’ that constitute female building workers’ undoing manual labour. Concluding, we offer theoretical, methodological and empirical reflections and signpost new research directions.

О совершенствовании порядка хранения арестованного недвижимого имущества

Introduction. The problem of storage of seized property during pre-trial criminal proceedings not only persists, but is becoming more acute due to the increasing use of this type of criminal procedural coercive measure provided for by Article 115 of the Criminal Procedural Code of the Russian Federation. The new Rules on accounting and storage of objects and documents seized in the course of investigation but not recognised as material evidence in criminal cases until recognised as material evidence in criminal cases, adopted by the Government of the Russian Federation on 28 September 2023, do not solve this problem. Several options for solving this problem proposed by scholars are analysed. Methods. In order to solve this problem, we used dialectical, formal-logical methods, as well as the method of interpreting the legal norms of criminal procedure. Results. The article proposes and substantiates the authors’ approach to solving the problem. The essence of the proposal is that the responsible storage and operation of confiscated real estate objects should be carried out by enterprises on a contractual basis. The authors insist on the need for the Main Department of the Ministry of the Interior of Russia to conclude contracts with enterprises for the responsible storage and operation of seized real estate objects. These companies should be responsible for the storage and operation of real estate objects seized by court order until the verdict or other final decision on the criminal case is rendered.

The Embodiment of Law and Law of the Body. The Body as Law Phenomenon

The article is devoted to the reasoning of the body as a legal phenomenon. After all, although the body is ontologically the closest thing to us, from the legal point of view it is one of the most mysterious legal phenomena. Thus, traditional jurisprudence usually divides all legal beings into subjects of law (the state, individuals and legal entities, the nation, etc.) and objects of legal relations (estate, material evidence, objects of dispute, etc.). However, the body cannot be identified within these criteria. On the one hand, the body itself is not a subject of law. After all, purely disembodied, abstract entities, such as legal entities or the state, are subjects of law, sometimes without any material “embodiment”. On the other hand, purely corporeal existence does not guarantee legal personality, since, for example, the presence of a dead body in itself indicates its absence. This state of affairs is fully reflected in the national legislation of Ukraine. Its analysis shows that the human body is not defined as an independent object of legal regulation, and there is no corresponding legal regime. The most symptomatic manifestation of the total disregard for the legal issues of the body is the absence of a corresponding term even in special medical legislation regulating organ transplantation, health care, and medical assistance. Therefore, the phenomenon of the body currently remains outside the attention of Ukrainian lawyers. This leads to the lack of conceptual reasoning of the body as a legal phenomenon and uncertainty of legal regulation of the human body as such. So, it can be stated that the phenomenon of the body needs to be comprehended from a philosophical and legal point of view. The result of such comprehension is the identification of the following ontological features of the body as a legal phenomenon: syncretism, liminality and intentionality of the body. This, in turn, gives grounds to assert that normativity is immanently present in the body, when the body itself is a hypothesis and disposition for others, and the impossibility of communication with it is a sanction. As a result, the author concludes that the inviolability of the body should be enshrined in law and the relevant amendments should be made to the Civil and Criminal Codes of Ukraine.

Optimization of Separation Parameters for a Pneumatic Separation Device for Plastic Evidence at Explosion Sites

AbstractExtracting and recovering plastic evidence at explosion sites is important for police investigations. Pneumatic separation is an efficient recovery method that is simple and environmentally friendly. To improve the accuracy of material separation, it is necessary to fully understand the influence of internal flow fields and structural design when using a material evidence classification device at explosion sites. In this study, a combination of a simulation and experiments is used. The results from the simulation are used to design a pneumatic separation device that is applied to explosive separation experiments. The grade and recovery rate of the plastic materials are excellent, which confirms the suitability of the device to classify plastic evidence at explosion sites.

Mapping the Inner 0.1 pc of a Supermassive Black Hole Environment with the Tidal Disruption Event and Extreme Coronal-line Emitter AT 2022upj

Extreme coronal-line emitters (ECLEs) are objects showing transient high-ionization lines in the centers of galaxies. They have been attributed to echoes of high-energy flares of ionizing radiation, such as those produced by tidal disruption events (TDEs), but have only recently been observed within hundreds of days after an optical transient was detected. AT 2022upj is a nuclear UV–optical flare at z = 0.054, with spectra showing [Fe x] λ6375 and [Fe xiv]​​​​​ λ5303 during the optical peak, the earliest presence of extreme coronal lines during an ongoing transient. AT 2022upj is also the second ever ECLE (and the first with a concurrent flare) to show broad He ii λ4686 emission, a key signature of optical/UV TDEs. We also detect X-ray emission during the optical transient phase, which may be related to the source of ionizing photons for the extreme coronal lines. Finally, we analyze the spectroscopic evolution of each emission line and find that [Fe x] and [Fe xiv] weaken within 400 days of the optical peak, while [Fe vii] λ5720, [Fe vii] λ6087, and [O iii] λλ4959,5007 emerge over the same period. The velocities of the iron lines indicate circumnuclear gas within 0.1 pc of the central supermassive black hole (SMBH), while a dust echo inferred from NEOWISE data indicates that circumnuclear dust lies a minimum of 0.4 pc away, providing evidence of stratified material around an SMBH. AT 2022upj is thus the first confirmed ECLE–TDE with clear signatures of both classes and with spectroscopic evolution on a ∼year-long timescale. This event helps unveil the impacts of highly energetic flares such as TDEs on the complex environments around SMBHs.

Venerated Stones and Eagle Banners

This study contributes to the spatial and material contextualization of early Narayana religion by revisiting important archaeological sites and epigraphic sources from the first and second centuries bce. It explores some of the ways in which the literary formulations of Vaisnava divinities and theologies were materialized and venerated by those individuals who identified themselves as devotees of Bhagavat (Bhagavatas)—a title used in epigraphic sources of this period to refer to deities such as Vasudeva, Narayana and Samkarsana. While anthropomorphic icons are commonly associated with devotional practices relating to these deities, material representations of divinity could also take other forms—notably monolithic columns styled as emblematic banners (dhvaja or ketu). By analysing epigraphic and material evidence from Besnagar in Madhya Pradesh and Nagari in Rajasthan, two critical sites for the history of early Narayana religion, I hypothesize that monumental dhvajas were integral to devotional life at these temple complexes.

Proof of corruption offenses

The scientific article focuses on the key aspects of the problem related to identifying and proving the facts of corrupt activity and turning such activity into an investigation. The investigation itself is connected with the collection and assessment of evidence, their correct fixation. Particular attention is paid to ensuring that all collected evidence is included in the criminal proceedings and evaluated correctly by the court. In this case, the evidence must be proper, admissible, reliable and sufficient. Methods of evidence collection, features of their assessment, and attachment to the proceedings are analyzed. The evidence must relate to the circumstances of the criminal proceedings and include: witness statements, written documents, material evidence, expert opinions and electronic evidence. The collection of evidence in such a category of cases as corruption requires detailed attention, since corruption offenses are secret schemes and agreements, the involvement of an intellectual component and the difficulty of detecting such actions. During the investigation of corruption offenses, indirect evidence is most often used, such as financial and accounting documents, electronic documentation between participants, to certify agreements, testimony of third parties. Special attention is paid to the normative and legal framework, which regulates the process of proof in corruption cases, as well as practical aspects of the work of law enforcement agencies. The article also highlights procedural violations of legislation in corruption offenses: presumption of innocence; conducting searches; dissemination of information obtained during the conduct of secret investigative (research) actions; excessive publicity; disclosure of information about persons who carry out confidential cooperation. A relevant aspect is a certain distinction between evidence that was obtained in a legal and illegal way: «clean» (the guilt of the accused was established on the basis of proper and admissible evidence and proved beyond a reasonable doubt) and «dirty» (inadmissible evidence was used, provocation was used, the rights of the participants were violated proceedings). In the process of formation and verification of evidence, the goal is to create specific means (evidence), then in the process of proving the circumstances of the crime, these means should be applied by way of argumentation, substantiating certain theses (conclusions, procedural decisions).

Towards an Archaeological Appraisal of the Central Zagros in the Achaemenid Period

Abstract Located in the great satrapy of Media, during the Achaemenid period central Zagros was a crucial region throughout this era in western Iran, but archaeologically it has not so far been analyzed because of lacking material evidence. However, a putative reconstruction may be presented on the basis of current documentation. On this ground and as historical geography interpretations suggest, the central, southern and eastern parts of this region were more important, while the western and northern parts are still waiting for further explorations. Ecbatana, Nush-i Jan and Godin formed most significant centers in the eastern part, but the present paper argues that it was Bisotun in the central part that echoed Achaemenid power on various administrative, economic, military and ceremonial levels.

ЕВОЛЮЦІЯ ПІДХОДІВ ДО ЗБЕРЕЖЕННЯ АРХЕОЛОГІЧНИХ РЕЛІКТІВ АРХІТЕКТУРИ: ОГЛЯД МІЖНАРОДНИХ ДОКУМЕНТІВ

Archaeological sites are non-renewable resources of global significance, containing material evidence of the past. International documents and charters have played a crucial role in shaping the principles of archaeological heritage preservation. This study examines the theoretical foundations of archaeological site conservation as outlined in international documents and charters from the 20th and 21st centuries, which contribute to the evolving ethics of interventions in archaeological sites. Special attention is given to analyzing the legal status of ratified international documents in Ukraine, emphasizing the importance of ratifying those documents that have yet to be adopted at the national level. The problem of archaeological preservation becomes increasingly relevant as new architectural heritage objects are discovered annually. Many of these architectural relics lack primary protective measures, such as roofs or other structures, rendering them vulnerable to deterioration due to environmental factors, improper use, negligence, or misguided interventions. In the absence of appropriate protection, these objects are particularly susceptible to degradation, underscoring the need for urgent preservation measures. Nowadays, cultural heritage faces numerous threats, such as climate change, urbanization, and wars. For Ukraine, it is essential not only to acknowledge the significance of presenting archaeological sites, which embody the identity and values of society, but also to actively implement international preservation standards. This study also highlights the need for comprehensive research into international documents and charters, based on centuries of experience in preservation of archaeological remains of architecture, achieved through trial and error. Ukraine must integrate global experiences into national practices to avoid past mistakes and ensure the reliable preservation of archaeological heritage for future generations. The article's objective is to analyze approaches to the preservation of architectural archaeological relics based on international documents and charters, exploring the evolution of these approaches and the values of heritage they delineate. The research aims to shed light on the problem of insufficient implementation of international norms into national legislation and restoration practices.

Deep Mapping the Thoughts and Emotions Evoked by the Historical Attractions of Sicily during the Grand Tour

This article presents an interdisciplinary approach which includes digital humanities, emotionology, and spatial humanities applied to an archaeological context. The aim is to produce a digital deep map, by means of the Geographical Information System (GIS), of the historical attractions of Sicily, Italy, depicting the emotional responses, and the opinions described in the travelogues of the Grand Tour travellers. Mapping the emotions and opinions of the travellers reveals the idea that Northern and Central European travellers had of Sicily. The article compares different historical landmarks and demonstrates that travellers had a major interest in Greek and Roman antiquities. However, we can see that there were also conflicting impressions about the same material evidence, or area. The combination of emotionology, archaeology, and spatial humanities helps in reasoning about the role of antiquities, the sense of place, and the identity of places and people.

A Note on the Equipment and Machinery for Democracy in Classical Athens: A Rhetorical Perspective on Material Evidence

The relationship between democracy and literacy is a longstanding topic of interest both to contemporary communication scholars as well as historians of rhetoric. Democracy and literacy are both social activities. Focusing on the Classical Period of Athens ( ca. 480–323 BCE) as a specific site of study, this essay argues that the dynamic interaction of these two activities was facilitated by the development and application of technological equipment. That is, technology, in this case, refers to the equipment and machinery ancient Athenians utilized that enhanced their literate skills in order to facilitate the performance of democratic activities. Archaeological excavations over the last century, especially at the Agora, have yielded artifacts that provide evidence of the technological implements used in democratic activities. This study offers an analysis of recently excavated artifacts arguing that Athenians developed and employed equipment that utilized literacy in order to enhance the civic processes of democracy. This field study advances the conclusion that the relationship between democracy and literacy in classical Athens requires an understanding of a third factor: the impact of technology.