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Postmortem
trauma is an injury
to the skeleton that has been sustained
after
death. Postmortem trauma is distinctly different from antemortem
trauma,
as there will be no signs of healing. Furthermore, with exposure to the
environment, bones dry out. When dry bones get broken, they break
differently
than fresh bones. There will also be differences in colour of broken
areas
on bone if they are broken postmortem. These differences will lead a
forensic
anthropologist to conclude that the break is postmortem. A trained
anthropologist
will be able to recognize the difference between postmortem trauma and
antemortem trauma to the skeleton.
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