Collins, Cheyenne Dakota2019-11-072019-11-072019https://hdl.handle.net/1794/2500678 pagesDetermining time since death (post-mortem interval or PMI) is an essential part of medico-legal death investigations. PMI can give investigators important information about time of death and may help answer questions about the events leading up to death. The purpose of this study was to collect decompositional data from an understudied region (Oregon), and compare multiple scoring methods that are current standards developed in regions such as Tennessee, in order to characterize the effects of regional variation on decomposition and taphonomy. Six pig heads were placed on the ground surface in a fenced enclosure and exposed to the natural winter environment of the Willamette Valley (WV) of Oregon for sixty days. Three of these pig heads underwent sharp force trauma infliction (SFT) in order to compare rate of decay with remains that have a singular SFT wound. Stage of decomposition, temperature, precipitation, and preliminary entomological data were collected throughout the sixty-day observation period. These data were used to compare Anderson and VanLaerhoven’s (1996) stages of decomposition model to Megyesi et al.’s (2005) total body scoring (TBS) system in the WV; compare and contrast similar studies from different seasons within the WV; and analyze the effects of increase in number of open wounds (SFT) on decomposition rates and insect activity. This study found that decomposition in the WV during the cold/wet season (winter) did not closely align with either Anderson and VanLaerhoven (1996) or Megyesi et al. (2005). Analyses of statistical, qualitative, and interobserver error suggests that neither scoring method is a perfect fit for the WV. Winter decay was found to occur at a slower pace when compared to summer decay and was overall more variable. Partial mummification and rehydration of the remains was observed multiple times during this study. Increase in number of SFT wounds did not influence rate of decay. Sub-environmental differences were found to have an effect on decomposition rate and a considerable amount of small animal and avian scavenging of the remains occurred throughout the study. Scavenging influenced rate of decay through loss of mass that propelled decomposition forward.en-USCreative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0-USAnthropologyForensic AnthropologyTaphonomyAnthropologySharp Force TraumaDecompositionThesis/Dissertation