Archaeological Human Remains Detection
Overview
Our detection dogs are used to locate odor associated with buried and aged human remains in archaeological and cultural heritage contexts.
Specialized Detection Context
Archaeological detection differs from forensic and search-and-rescue work. Rather than locating recent remains, dogs work with older, lower-concentration, and more diffuse odor signatures associated with historic and pre-contact burials. Handlers in these separate fields also have different sets of data to work with, and different regulations and best practices to follow both in fieldwork and in post-fieldwork reporting.
What the Dogs Detect
Human decomposition produces a complex mixture of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that varies throughout the decomposition process. Dogs respond to specific combinations of these compounds, which produce a signature specific to the human decomposition window for which they are trained.
In archaeological settings, these signatures may persist in soil through decomposition byproducts and environmental processes, even long after visible remains are no longer present.
After initial training on target odor, dogs are exposed to historic and prehistoric odor signatures in situ through controlled training sessions conducted in collaboration with tribal partners, cemetery managers, and land stewards. These training sessions provide exposure to the lower-concentration and environmentally altered odor conditions typical of archaeological burial contexts.
Odor Movement
Odor does not stay in one place. It moves through soil and across the surface based on conditions such as:
- Soil type (e.g. clay, sand, loam) and moisture content
- Vegetation density and surface conditions
- Subsurface pathways (root systems or animal burrows)
- Water movement and drainage patterns
- Weather conditions like temperature, humidity, solar radiation, and barometric pressure
Detection reflects where odor is available, not necessarily an exact burial location.
Interpretation
Detection results are interpreted based on:
- Dog behavior in the form of recognizable physiological and trained response patterns
- Environmental conditions
- Site context and available data
Handler experience is critical in distinguishing meaningful responses from background scent or environmental noise, especially in the archaeological context where the target odor is more complex in it's concentration and dispersal patterns.
Limitations
Detection dogs identify the presence of odor associated with human remains.
They do not:
- Confirm the presence of human remains
- Determine age or cultural affiliation
- Define exact burial boundaries
