HAL Id: hal-02801574
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Dental care for Mozart Dental care for Mozart
Pierre-François Puech, F. Cianfarani, H. Albertini
To cite this version:
Pierre-François Puech, F. Cianfarani, H. Albertini. Dental care for Mozart Dental care for Mozart.
13th Meeting of the International Association of Forensic Sciences Düsseldorf 22-28 August 1993, 1993, Düsseldorf, Germany. pp.119-120. �hal-02801574�
Dental care for Mozart
Puech, P. F., Cianfarani, F., Albertini, H. 1995. Dental care for Mozart. 13th Meeting of the International Association of Forensic Sciences Düsseldorf 22-28 August 1993. In: Advances in Forensic Sciences Vol 7; Forensic odontology & anthropology , Jacob B. and Bonte W. ed., Köster, Berlin: 119-120; ISBN: 3895741094, 3895741078
Dental care for Mozart
Abstract. Valuable informations leading to the identification of Mozart’s skull (1756 – 1791) were obtained with extracttion replicas for stripping of superficial cells, particles of the original teeth and bone as well as animal, vegetal and mineral deposits accessible to nvestigation. Such replicas have allowed the scanning electron microscope examination and micro-analysis and therefore it is strongly recommanded that historic skeletons should only be investigated with great care, using replica techniques to ‘flick away’ material adjacent to surfaces.
Introduction. The identification of human remains in situation where exposure and time elapsed since death had destructed a great proportion of the soft tissues has frequently been based on morphological assessment and biological skeletal individualization. If little or no attention is generally payed to the presence of a variety of microscopic deposits and histological surface findings, a small number of distinctive characteristics based on morphology, endoscopy and quantitative distribution of chemical elements of particularities have not only provided scientists with identity informations but have also assisted investigators to formulate positive hypothesis to construct models and deduce their consequences.
As part of a forensic study to determine the identification of the skull of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, we noted the presence of several surface individual characteristics. This paper reports the initial investigation under the scanning electron microscope in order to present accumulation of factors of individualisation needed for a positive identification.
Materials and Methods. The skull of Mozart, deposited in Salzburg, was exhumed in 1801 at the Saint-Marx cemetery in Vienna (1). The osteometrical and osteological conditions correspond with the available data concerning Mozart. He had an ultrabrachycephalic cranium with a broad midface, maxillo-alveolar prognathism and a retruded mandible. Presence of further separate conditional traits have improved the reliability of the identification and we noted an undescribed temporo-parietal fracture with an extra-dural hematoma imprint that poisoned the last part of his life and led to a fatal coma (2, 3 and 4).
The size, characteristics of a skull and prevention of even minimal destruction of this historic marterial did not allow analysis of the piece itself. We recorded selected areas for microscopic observation with a cellulosic negative replica technique that reliably reproduces the surface details. The bone and teeth surfaces where copied by means of nitro-cellulosic vernish dropped and spread to form a thin layer that may be stripped after about two hours. Thin portions or particles of the original object that remained attached have been subject to electron microprobe analysis. The method is fast, relatively uncomplicated and the microscopic detail resolution is very great. If the stripping of the replica film is sometimes difficult, it is the only method in which location of the areas is not extracted from the general picture. A condition required to identify without ambiguity.
Results and Discussion.
The skull has had its base sawn off and scraping marks as well as cut marks have been detected. A few bone surface irregularities can be seen, a linear fracture with signs of healing can be followed on the left temporo-parietal bone with an imprint of a clot on the internal table, and the skull retains organic residues and deposits. The incisor crowns are broken off, the roots present in their sokets.
The details described afford a glimpse of events which occured before and after death of the music composer. Fracture lesions are frequent on skeletal finds. The calcified epidural
hematoma imprint, associated with bone
