When a human dies and you do not know the date he died how do you find out how that human died and when he died?

Question: When a human dies and you do not know the date he died how do you find out how that human died and when he died?
- Keywords:
  date,
  died,
  Human
Asked by Chemstar to Daniel, Giovanna, Greg, Kelly, Lowri on 11 Mar 2016.
- Lowri Evans answered on 11 Mar 2016:
  
  The people who estimate the time of death is usually a pathologist, who has to do what’s known as an autopsy after a death.
  
  Time of death is categorised in three ways:
  – Physiological time of death: The point at which the deceased’s body – including vital organs – ceased to function.
  – Estimated time of death: A best guess based on available information.
  – Legal time of death: The time at which the body was discovered or physically pronounced dead by another individual. This is the time that is shown – by law – on a death certificate.
  
  One method of estimating the time of death is to measure body temperature, and another way is Rigor Mortis, which also acts as a good measuring stick for estimating the time of death. This natural process which occurs in all of us when we die and is the natural contracting and relaxation of the body’s muscles caused by changes in the body’s chemical balances.
  
  Rigor normally occurs in the smaller muscles such as those in the face and neck and will work its way down through the body as the muscles become larger. The process normally begins roughly two hours after death and can last for anything from twenty to thirty hours. It is a common misconception that rigor does not leave the body; it will after these time frames have elapsed.
  
  Rigor is one of the most used ways of estimating death as it occurs in the body during the first thirty-six to forty-eight hours.
- Giovanna Tancredi answered on 14 Mar 2016:
  
  This job is done by a pathologist.
  
  One method of estimating the time of death is to measure body temperature. Our body temperature is about 37.5C. When we die our body temperature will slowly reach the temperature of the environment in which our body is . So, a pathologist uses a math formula to calculate how much is past since the death.
  Another way is to look at the rigor mortis as Lowri well described below.
  
  Sometimes The pathologist also look at the insects found close to the body to establish a more accurate time scale depending on which insects are found on the body and what stages they are at in their life cycle.
- Kelly Houton answered on 14 Mar 2016:
  
  Hi Chemstar,
  
  because everyone else has answered your question quite literally, there is always older skeletons to consider. These skeletons are dated using carbon dating.
  The date of death can be calculated using the decay to nitrogen of radiocarbon (carbon-14). It’s worth googling to have a look- really interesting!
- Daniel Biggs answered on 15 Mar 2016:
  
  Hey Chemstar, everyone has done a great job of answering your question. They have covered the when part of your question. The ‘how’ can all depend on if that human in question died of natural casues, or the death was caused by any persons actions.
  
  If it is deemed to be by another person a pathologist will investigate the body for clues as to why the person has passed. They may look for blunt force trauma, if they died from being hit with an object. They could look for a stab wound or cut that lead to the death.
  
  I hope this helps.

Question: When a human dies and you do not know the date he died how do you find out how that human died and when he died?

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