Soil Loading
Definition
Fracture of bone by the compressive weight and shifting of overlying sediment over time. Produces fractures at structurally weak points, often with soil matrix wedged between fracture faces.
- Cause
- Compressive weight of overlying sediment
- Location
- Structurally weak points of bone
- Diagnostic feature
- Soil matrix wedged in fracture faces
- Classification
- Postmortem taphonomic alteration
Common questions
How does an examiner distinguish soil loading fractures from perimortem trauma?+
Soil loading fractures tend to occur at structurally weak points, show soil matrix packed into the fracture line, and lack the coloration or bone-response characteristics associated with fractures sustained while the bone was still living tissue, whereas perimortem trauma occurs around the time of death while the bone retains some elasticity.
Does soil loading happen quickly after burial or slowly over time?+
It is generally a slow process, resulting from the sustained weight and shifting of sediment above the remains over an extended period, rather than a single sudden impact, which is part of why it is classified as postmortem rather than perimortem damage.
Why is finding soil matrix inside a fracture significant?+
Soil packed into a fracture face indicates the bone was already broken, or broke, while buried in that sediment, helping confirm the fracture occurred after burial rather than being carried over from an earlier injury or from handling during recovery.
Related terms
- Green-Bone Fracture
- A fracture in bone that still has organic content: characterised by spiral or helical lines, smooth curved edges, and often some elastic...
- Peri-Mortem
- At or around the time of death, when bone retains sufficient collagen to fracture in a ductile, green-bone manner. The precise biological...
- Periosteal Reaction
- New bone formation on the outer cortex in response to infection, trauma, or inflammation during life. When present around a fracture site,...
- Post-Mortem
- After death, once the organic matrix has significantly degraded. Post-mortem fractures show dry-bone morphology: transverse, angular, and without spiral curvature.
- Root Etching
- Channels and furrows on bone cortex produced by plant root acids and microbial activity concentrated along the root-bone contact zone. A major...