ABSTRACT
Archaeologists have expertise in untangling the seemingly chaotic structure of scattered and buried features, artifacts, and deposits. In forensic archaeological work, investigators should apply a histiographical approach to understanding how the requirements of an investigation will be affected by a particular methodological or theoretical approach. The practice of using standard operating procedures is common in many professions, such as in fire brigades and the armed forces, and now also for the forensic archaeological process. The use of archaeology and archaeologists in criminal, humanitarian, and disaster excavation and recovery is slowly being incorporated into the standard operating procedures, management strategies, and tactics of practical scene investigations. Thus it is becoming increasingly important to synthesise forensic archaeological practice and understanding nationally and internationally into the processes of crime-scene management, auditing, error reduction, evidential control, and custody management.
