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Mushrooms and taphonomy: the fungi that mark woodland graves

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 December 2003

MARK TIBBETT
Affiliation:
School of Pharmacy and Molecular Sciences, James Cook University, Douglas, Queensland 4811, Australia. [email protected], [email protected]
DAVID O. CARTER
Affiliation:
School of Pharmacy and Molecular Sciences, James Cook University, Douglas, Queensland 4811, Australia. [email protected], [email protected]
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Abstract

Two closely related chemoecological groups of fungi, the ammonia fungi and the postputrefaction fungi, have been associated with the decomposition by-products of cadavers. Sporocarps have been observed in disparate woodlands across the world and often mark sites of graves. These groups of fungi provide visible markers of the sites of cadaver decomposition and follow repeated patterns of successional change as apparent decomposition proceeds. We suggest these phenomena may become a useful tool for crime scene investigation, forensic archaeology and forensic taphonomy.

Type
Original Article
Copyright
© 2003 Cambridge University Press

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