Identification of osseous materials is generally established on gross anatomical factors; however, highly fragmented or taphonomically altered materials are often problematic and alternative methods, such as biological, histological, or chemical analysis, must be utilized. Recently, chemical methods have been proposed to sort unknown materials according to their Ca/P ratios. Ubelaker and colleagues (2002) proposed using SEM/EDX to achieve this distinction and Christensen and colleagues (2012) have validated X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry (XRF) for this application. An alternative method of analysis involves performing principal component analysis (PCA) on element spectra to classify unknown materials based on their trace element composition. Zimmerman (2013) proposed the validity of this method with data obtained using hand held XRF. Subsequently, performing PCA on elemental data obtained using SEM/EDX demonstrates potential for material differentiation. Elemental weight percent data were collected using SEM/EDX then processed in R, version 3.0.1, by the R Foundation for Statistical Computing using PCA and Fisher Linear Discriminant Analysis. A two-tiered analysis was undertaken to improve discrimination between sample groups. The first tier involved distinguishing between osseous and non-osseous materials. After outliers were removed overall correct classification was 98.02% with one of 1504 osseous and 39 of 520 non-osseous spectra misclassifying. Since forty spectra were collected for each sample, the single misclassifying spectra would not affect the overall classification of the sample, resulting in 100% correct classification with a 0% error rate for the osseous samples. The second tier assessed differentiation of human and non-human osseous materials but demonstrated a poor correct classification rate of 72.41%. Finally, a blind study was conducted using 20 samples to assess the applicability for using this method to classify unknown materials as osseous or non-osseous. All of the samples were correctly classified resulting in 100% correct classification, further demonstrating the efficiency of SEM/EDX and statistical analysis for differentiation of osseous and non-osseous materials. Due to its high specificity, small sample requirements, and relative non-destructive testing protocol, as well as its presence in most modern crime laboratories, SEM/EDX has been proposed as a laboratory method for chemical differentiation of osseous and non-osseous materials. Additionally, the proposed method does not require advanced training or knowledge of analytical chemistry as the SEM/EDX provides clear results that can be processed using publically available statistical analysis software. By assessing and improving chemical analysis methodologies used for material differentiation, forensic anthropologists might be able to identify osseous and non-osseous samples as a preemptive step in forensic investigations involving fragmentary and taphonomically modified materials, reducing time and cost investments spent on forensically insignificant samples.

Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) can be a useful geophysical instrument in the search and detection of clandestine graves in a forensic context. Controlled research in the field of forensic archaeology has demonstrated the applicability of this technology and is vital for improving GPR search methods. The objectives of this research was to evaluate the applicability of GPR, using 250 MHz and 500 MHz antennae, to locate shallow graves containing small pig cadavers in various burial scenarios over a 12 month period. Data was collected on a controlled grid containing six graves at 0.5 m in depth: five graves containing pig carcasses and one control grave. The five graves containing the pig carcasses were devised to test a number of common forensic burial scenarios. The reflection profile data was processed using the computer program REFLEXW. The results demonstrate that the additional grave items did not always increase the detection of the grave for this monitoring period. Further, the low demarcation of the grave containing disturbed backfill illustrated that the hyperbolic reflection features were the result of the pig carcasses and not the disturbed soil. In terms of antenna performance, the 250 MHz data initially provided a higher resolution within the first few months. However, over time the higher detail provided by the 500 MHz data consistently resulted in easily discernable reflections.

Forensic anthropologists normally examine bone from a variety of medicolegal contexts. The skeletal remains may in some cases be highly fragmented or taphonomically modified, making it difficult to sort bone from non-bone material. In these cases, the forensic anthropologist may rely on microscopic or destructive chemical analyses to sort the material. However, these techniques are costly and time-intensive, prompting the use of nondestructive analytical methods in distinguishing bone and teeth from non-bone materials in a limited number of cases. The proposed analytical techniques are limited in that they rely on an examination of the major elements in the material, and do not sort out all materials with a similar chemical composition to bone/teeth. To date, no methods have been proposed for the use of handheld Xray fluorescence (HHXRF) spectrometry in discriminating human and nonhuman bone/teeth from non-bone materials. The purpose of this research was to develop a method for the use of HHXRF spectrometry in forensic anthropology specifically related to distinguishing human and nonhuman bone and teeth from non-bone materials of a similar chemical composition using multivariate statistical analyses: principal components analysis (PCA), linear discriminant analysis (LDA), quadratic discriminant analysis (QDA), and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA). This was accomplished in two phases. Phase 1 consisted of a Reliability Test and involved sampling a single human long bone in thirty locations. Multiple spectra were collected at each location to examine the reliability of the instrument in detecting the elements both within a single site and between multiple sites. The results of the Reliability Test indicated that HHXRF consistently detected the major and minor elements found on the surface of a human bone. iv These results were used for Phase 2, designated the Accuracy Test, which involved analyzing a set of materials compiled from the literature to test the accuracy of the technique in discriminating bone (human and nonhuman) and non-bone samples (other biological and nonbiological). The results of the Accuracy Test indicate that osseous and dental tissue can be distinguished from non-bone material of similar chemical composition with a high degree of accuracy (94%) when data is collected from several locations on a sample and analyzed separately during multivariate statistical analyses. Overall, it was not possible to discriminate rock apatite and synthetic hydroxyapatite (synthetic bone) from bone. However, this technique successfully discriminated other non-bone materials that are chemically similar to bone, such as ivory and octocoral, which previous methods focusing on only a comparison of Ca/P ratios were unable to distinguish from bone.

Tooth enamel is among the most durable substances in the human body and as such has high recoverability in forensic anthropology cases. Its crystalline hydroxyapatite matrix has a slightly variable chemical composition which incorporates biologically available trace elements. The trace elements are derived from an individual's diet and the water he or she consumes during the period of enamel formation. As a result, trace element profiles of enamel can reflect the geology, pollution, and certain cultural dietary factors of the area in which the individual resided during this period. This research examines a sample of teeth with known demographic information from the Antioquia Modern Skeletal Reference Collection in Medellin, Colombia. A sample set of 75 teeth from 61 individuals born in areas throughout northwestern Colombia were analyzed using laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), a minimally destructive, semi-quantitative technique. Analysis was performed at the Center for Archaeology, Materials, and Applied Spectroscopy (CAMAS) at Idaho State University. 33 elements were analyzed in the sample. Nonparametric methods were used to assess the relationship between elemental profiles and region of origin. Sr, Mo, Ag, Ba, Eu, and Tm concentration profiles were found to vary among regional groups. Al, Ni, Cr, Mn, Co, Sr, Cd, Sb, Sm, Eu, and U were found to predict region of origin. Differences in municipality were classified with 72% accuracy, variation across the department of Antioquia was classified with 67% accuracy, and the age of the geologic substrate was classified with 67% accuracy. The results suggest that trace element analysis of permanent tooth enamel may be of some use in estimating an individual's region of origin in forensic anthropological contexts. Further research with both larger sample sizes and more geographic variation is necessary.

In ancestry estimation of South African individuals, non-metric morphological trait assessment has not proven useful and previous results in FORDISC 3.0 leave room for improvement. The accuracy rates of software programs FORDISC 3.1 and 3D-ID were compared for ancestry estimation based on cranial data of black and white South Africans using discriminant function analysis. Cranial landmarks were digitized using a Microscribe G2 for geometric morphometric analysis in 3D-ID, and traditional craniometric measurements for use in FORDISC were calculated using the data collection software 3Skull. Data was collected from a total of 385 individuals (186 black and 199 white crania) from the Pretoria Bone Collection. Overall accuracy rates of 75.6% using FORDISC 3.1 and 63.1% using 3D-ID were obtained for black and white South Africans. Incorrect estimates were more often due to misclassifications of sex rather than ancestry, reflecting the decreased amount of sexual dimorphism in South African populations when compared against American populations, discussed previously. Black South Africans were more often classified correctly in FORDISC 3.1, and white South Africans were more often classified correctly in 3D-ID. Low sample size in comparative databases and broad ancestral differences between South Africans and the proxy populations used (American, European, and African) likely explain the low accuracy rates. The use of FORDISC and 3D-ID in conjunction can help South African anthropologists in estimating ancestry and ensuring correct classifications.

The purpose of this research is to examine the reliability of posteroanterior (PA) left knee radiographs for positive identification using comparative radiography. PA radiographs of the knee were selected for their clinical significance in diagnosing knee osteoarthritis (OA), the most common skeletal pathology today, and their likely appearance in the antemortem record of a medicolegal death investigation. Therefore, this research examines the reliability of using a clinically relevant type of radiograph, PA left knee radiographs, for positive identification. All radiographs used in this research were downloaded from the Osteoarthritis Imitative (OAI), a public database, and compiled into a virtual survey which asked participants to identify matches between radiographs collected at various time periods throughout the OAI study. Images were collected from the 12, 48, 72, and 96-month collection periods of the OAI for 89 individuals and divided into three series. Each of the three series has different amounts of time between image acquisition, with three years (Series 1), five years (Series 2), and seven years (Series3), and were created by comparing images from the 12-month collection period to images from 48, 72, and 96-month collection period, respectively. Radiographs were edited into single side-by-side images for ease of comparison and were included in a Qualtrics XM survey that was distributed to those with and without comparative radiography experience. A total of 66 participants were asked to answer several demographic questions as well as nine radiographic comparisons questions. Each of the radiographic comparisons, comprised of OAI images of living individuals, asked if a specified antemortem “A” image and was a match or no match to a series of “postmortem” images. Accuracies, sensitivities, specificities, positive predictive values (PPV), and negative predictive values (NPV) were calculated for the survey respondents (n=66), series, and respondent demographics. The overall results (accuracy=94.2%, sensitivity=54.7%, specificity=97.5%, PPV=65.6%, and NPV=96.2%) indicated that respondents performed only moderately well in matching correct radiographs. However, the performance of the participants in the overall survey and in all three series was statistically significantly lower (α<0.05) for those with no comparative radiography experience and those with little-to-no forensic casework experience. The performance of all participants became progressively lower with each series, with Series 1 demonstrating the best performance and Series 3 demonstrating the worst performance among participants. Decreasing levels of performance suggests that bony changes associated with OA and the osseous and radiographic features used in making matches (e.g., morphology of the femur and tibia, joint space width) preclude radiographic matching of the knee over around three years between antemortem and postmortem image acquisitions. Therefore, the results of this research demonstrate that radiographic comparison using OA left PA knee radiographs is not recommended after more than five years between antemortem and postmortem images, due to the degraded performance of trained survey respondents. / 2024-05-02T00:00:00Z

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a global human rights issue that affects approximately 25% of women and 10% of men and is the leading cause of homicides of women worldwide. Multiple studies have been conducted by medical and dental practitioners to screen for indicators of IPV so that victims can be directed toward resources for help. However, despite its prevalence, injury patterns indicative of intimate partner homicide (IPH) have not previously been studied. Given that blunt force injuries are the primary type of trauma associated with IPV and the second leading trauma associated with IPH (after gunshot trauma), craniofacial fracture patterns from blunt force trauma associated with IPH served as the focus of this study. Using computed tomography (CT) scans obtained from the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator of identified victims of IPH, the fracture location and quantity of fractures were compared a compilation of results from previously published studies on IPV. In addition, data on fracture type were collected on the IPH sample, as this can provide information about the fracture-causing blow. This study aimed to determine whether there are differences in fracture patterns associated with IPH versus incidence of IPV that were survived. It was found that some trends present in IPV cases were maintained in IPH cases--such as a concentration of fractures to the mid-face-- fractures in IPH cases were more distributed over the skull and presented with an more frequently on the upper face and cranial vault, as well as fractures to the right side of the body.

Assigned sex estimation via the greater sciatic notch (GSN) is traditionally performed via physical/visual examination and ordinal scoring; however, this relies on the subjective assessment of morphology for typological classification which may not be reflective of human variation. Three-dimensional (3D) photogrammetry may offer a technologically advanced, low cost, and more objective alternative to assess the complex curvature of anatomical landmarks. This research explores the accuracy of photogrammetry derived 3D models by comparing digital measurements to those obtained from the skeletal elements and to streamline the application of curvature analysis for the estimation of assigned sex from the GSN. This study utilizes the left and right os coxae from 15 skeletal individuals (5 females, 10 males) from the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. A Fujifilm X-Pro2 and Fujifilm 35 mm prime lens captured 123 images per element, which were processed in Meshroom by AliceVision® to create a 3D textured mesh. The mesh was exported into Blender for cleanup, scaling, measurement, and curvature analysis. The measurements were between 96.54% and 99.94% consistent across methods and observations. The consistency between digital metric observations increased by an average of 0.07% when compared to the consistency of the dry bone measurements. Additionally, curvature analysis of the GSN correctly estimated the assigned sex of all os coxae in the sample. This study demonstrates that photogrammetry is an accurate and reliable method for the digitization of remains that enables analytical techniques to better capture skeletal variation compared to traditional methods.

The present research examined remains found from the Winchester Site in Winchester, MA that have evidence for postmortem alteration. The author compared the assemblages from Point San Jose (Hart et al. 2019; Willey et al. 2018), Holden Chapel (Hodge 2013; Hodge et al. 2017), Medical College of Georgia (Blakley 1997; McFarlin and Wineski 1997; Terrell and McFarlin 1997), Milwaukee County Institutional Grounds (Dougherty and Sullivan 2017), Newcastle Infirmary (Chamberlain 2016), and Blockley Almshouse (Crist et al. 2017; Hynes 2005) regarding patterns in bone modification and their potential causes. The sawn assemblage consists of 1365 adult remains, 67 juvenile remains, and 13 nonhuman remains. The human adult sawn Winchester Site sample is composed of 19.7% cranial remains and 80.3% postcranial remains. The postmortem alterations found on the remains from the Winchester Site lack pathological changes surrounding them. Eight of the 17 (47.0%) nearly complete crania exhibit evidence for craniotomy. Postmortem trephinations are seen in three crania. Repetition of surgical procedure training is seen through the 349 transverse complete kerfs located on the postcranial remains. There are 125 sternal segments and 133 rib segments with evidence of sharp force trauma, potentially from thoracotomy. The postmortem alteration within the faunal assemblage can be attributed to butchery on the elements from cow, sheep, and unidentified mammal, and dissection on the elements from the dog and red fox. Implements utilized on the skeletal remains were a flat-bladed saw with 18 teeth per inch (TPI) and a trephine. The remains from the Winchester Site exhibit experimentation with kerf locations, most likely originating from surgical training practices.

The present research examines the pathological changes and taphonomic alterations of buried human skeletal remains discovered in a burial feature underneath a construction site in a neighborhood house in Winchester, Massachusetts. Artifact association places the burial of these remains around the mid 1800s. Pathological changes were observed based on the presence of bone formation or destruction. The manifestations of pathological change observed for were related to or consistent with joint disease, infectious diseases, metabolic disorders, congenital abnormalities, dental disease, and neoplastic conditions. Taphonomic profiles of buried remains display certain characteristics that can be used to make comparisons to other known burial types, specifically traditional cemetery burials. The characteristics observed for to create the taphonomic profile were soil and mineral staining, bone condition and preservation, plant adherence and/or damage, postmortem damage, and the presence of coffin artifacts. The author hypothesized that the current sample of human skeletal remains from the Winchester Site would display pathological changes consistent with individuals from marginalized populations of the nineteenth century. The most prevalent pathological changes in the sample were those related to osteoarthritis (OA) and infection. The vertebral elements were most affected by OA, at 24.0% on the vertebral bodies and 17.5% on the vertebral facets. Of the remaining elements scored for OA, only 7.1% showed characteristics. Infection was observable on 10.9% of the postcranial elements, with the fibulae being the most affected, at 20.9%, followed by the tibiae at 18.3% and the clavicles at 16.1%. There were more cases of sclerotic bone, which indicated that the healing process started prior to death. There were only 11 cases of antemortem trauma that were observed to be either in the process of healing or already healed, as well as 2 cases of healed amputations of two proximal row pedal phalanges. Dentition was most affected by calculus at 33.3%, and had little instances of linear enamel hypoplasias. Other miscellaneous pathological changes were also observed, including Schmorl’s nodes, PH/CO, HFI, possible neoplasms, possible tuberculosis, and exostoses of the mouth. It was also hypothesized that the skeletal remains would display a different taphonomic profile compared to previously researched profiles of anatomized and cemetery remains. There is ubiquitous soil staining throughout the sample, postmortem damage at 69.4%, moderate cortical erosion at 15.7%, slight plant root adherence at 8.3%, and low mineral staining at 5.3%. There is a lack of anatomical hardware present throughout the remains, which indicates that the remains were not used for anatomical teaching. There is an abnormal pink stain on 1.0% of the skeletal remains, possibly the result of a historical embalming technique that used mercury. The analysis of the skeletal remains from the Winchester Site supported the hypothesis that the remains would display pathological changes consistent with marginalized populations. The author compared the Winchester Site to sites that reported having anatomized remains of marginalized individuals, specifically sites that were used as medical waste sites, poorhouses, and almshouses. The analysis of the skeletal remains also supported the hypothesis that the remains would display a taphonomic profile more consistent with cemetery remains buried directly in the soil and secondarily determined that the site was likely used as a medical waste site of anatomized remains. The analysis of the Winchester Site also confirmed that the remains did not display a taphonomic profile related to coffin cemetery remains or remains that have been prepared and used for anatomical teaching.