@article{4b27a2ad673c4731a2d2a9ce7c6cfb83,
title = "Cemetery hoodoo: Culture, ritual crime and forensic archaeology",
abstract = "In 2012 and 2014 the author was a consultant to law enforcement regarding crime scenes of a ritualistic nature in the American Southeast. These ritual activities were expressions of folk magic spells linked to certain West African traditions. These spells were used for magico-religious, curative, and {\textquoteleft}justice{\textquoteright} (i.e. revenge) practices known as hoodoo, conjure or rootwork. The ritual activities were conducted at gravesites in a public cemetery. When standard investigative police procedures failed to produce anything substantive with which to solve, prevent, or even understand the motive beyond one of {\textquoteright}vandalism,{\textquoteright} or {\textquoteleft}kids fooling around,{\textquoteright} the author was approached to contribute forensic archaeological and anthropological insights that had thus far proved elusive. This article is an examination of how cultural anthropological understanding and a forensic archaeological “eye” to an outdoor crime scene can re-define crime scene investigative methodology and interpretation.",
keywords = "African, Anthropology, Conjure, Forensic archaeology, Hoodoo, Rootwork, Voodoo",
author = "Moses, {Sharon K.}",
note = "Funding Information: Funding: The historical research in this article was supported by the Faculty Grants Program FY2016, of Northern Arizona University . Others: I would like to thank the South Carolina Historical Society, the Georgetown Historical Society, and the Charleston Museum for generous access to their archives and collections. I would like to thank the Law Enforcement departments and officers with whom I worked on this and other investigations in the State of South Carolina, for inviting me to contribute new perspectives, utilize my forensic archaeology and crime scene reconstructions and their support and appreciation for that contribution. Funding Information: Funding: The historical research in this article was supported by the Faculty Grants Program FY2016, of Northern Arizona University. Others: I would like to thank the South Carolina Historical Society, the Georgetown Historical Society, and the Charleston Museum for generous access to their archives and collections. I would like to thank the Law Enforcement departments and officers with whom I worked on this and other investigations in the State of South Carolina, for inviting me to contribute new perspectives, utilize my forensic archaeology and crime scene reconstructions and their support and appreciation for that contribution. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2019 The Author(s)",
year = "2020",
doi = "10.1016/j.fsisyn.2019.10.003",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "2",
pages = "17--23",
journal = "Forensic Science International: Synergy",
issn = "2589-871X",
publisher = "Elsevier BV",
}