Customer Reviews

NOVA: The Perfect Corpse

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Two remarkably well preserved bodies with distinct fingerprints but no bones were found in an Irish bog. Detectives were called, but quickly turned the case over to scientists.

Viewers learn that water in peat bogs produces a tanning solution that preserves skin and flesh. A criminologist is called and discovers evidence of stabbing, and that the skulls have been crushed - possibly while kneeling.

Carbon-14 dating establishes that the corpses are from the early Iron Age, during the time of the Celts. Unfortunately the Celts have no written language, so scholars are limited to accounts written centuries later by monks.

Hair analysis establishes the contents of the victim's last meal - milk and cereal products.

After a year of analysis, the most likely explanation is that the victims were from the upper class (gel in the hair came from southern France or Germany) either killed for "minor" crimes (eg. cowardice, sexual deviancy, laziness), and/or a sacrifice to fertility gods.

Bottom-Line: Somewhat interesting, but not a lot for a year's work by a number of talented people.

This documentary analyzes two bog corpses, not one. Thus the title should have been plural.

It's trivial, but one forensic scientist, who sounds like a bigwig in the Irish government, wears a shirt that shows all her cleavage. I guess white-collar, Irish workers can get away with things that would be deemed exhibitionist in an American context.

I love "The New Detectives," "Forensic Files," and all those programs that read clues off of dead bodies and end up putting criminals behind bars. Those same forensic skills are used here. Who would have known that fingernails, hair, and stomach contents could tell us so much?

One scientist excitedly says, "This could be my ancestor, so let me treat him with respect." Ancient Irish history comes up here a bit as well. Because the United States has such a large percentage of citizens of Irish ancestry, they may love this. This may be something viewers might want to see around St. Patrick's Day.

It's one thing to look at a mummified corpse. It was quite another to see a reenactment of a man's corpse being sunk. At one point, this work has a child actor holding a grown man's decapitated head. This work may not be for the young or the sensitive.

Someone once said, "Mummies are like ambassadors from an ancient culture to our own." I couldn't agree more. This work will fascinate those who find an interest in ancient matters.