The prehistoric Belle Glade Culture, dwelling around Lake Okeechobee in interior Florida, is one of the most understudied cultures in North America. The purpose of this study is to define population characteristics about this culture through skeletal analysis of the collected remains from the type site for the culture, Belle Glade Mound (8PB41). To address the confounding factors of fragmentation and commingling, recently developed methods, statistical analyses, and specially designed software for such analyses of confounded collections were used in undertaking this study. A biological profile was developed that includes age-at-death estimations, sex estimations, stature estimations, and ancestral estimations in order to create a paleodemographic summary that more adequately describes this unknown population. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015 / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

A Antropologia Forense é uma área de conhecimento que aplica os métodos da antropologia física e da arqueologia para coleta e análise de evidências legais, buscando estabelecer a identidade de um ser humano. O Centro de Medicina Legal (CEMEL) da Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto da Universidade de São Paulo (FMRP/USP) possui um Laboratório de Antropologia Forense (LAF), criado em 2005, em um projeto de parceria com a University of Sheffield (UK) e financiado pelo British Foreign and Commonwealth Office Global Opportunities Fund. Durante esse projeto, foi elaborado um protocolo para análise de ossadas com uma estrutura científica atualizada, aplicável ao contexto social brasileiro. Durante esses doze anos ocorreu uma aparente modificação das características dos casos encaminhados ao LAF/CEMEL, o que levou à necessidade de uma análise detalhada e comparativa dos casos. A proposta deste trabalho foi de evidenciar a evolução histórica dos casos de análise antropológica forense no LAF/CEMEL. Na primeira etapa foram analisados os casos acumulados de 1999 a 2004, na segunda etapa foram analisados os casos de 2005 a 2010, totalizando doze anos; por fim, foi realizado o estudo de acordo com a causa jurídica da morte, comparando os casos encaminhados ao LAF/CEMEL com os casos totais de morte por causa externa para Ribeirão Preto e região. Com base nos relatórios de Antropologia Forense (REAFs), as características antropológicas predominantes das ossadas analisadas no LAF/CEMEL foram: indivíduos do sexo masculino, caucasianos, com uma faixa etária média de 37 anos (1999 a 2004) e 35 anos (2005 a 2010); uma média de estatura de 1,68 metros (1999 a 2004) e 1,70 metros (2005 a 2010); destreza manual não determinada (1999 a 2004) e destros (2005 a 2010); com elementos odontológicos informativos; com achados patológicos (1999 a 2004) e achados patológicos ausentes (2005 a 2010); sem roupas e/ou pertences (1999 a 2004) e com roupas e/ou pertences (2005 a 2010). Foi verificado que os parâmetros (oito) analisados para a identificação de um indivíduo através do exame antropológico aumentou de 65% (1999 a 2004) para 93% (2005 a 2010). Conclui-se que a atuação constante na análise antropológica de ossadas tem levado a uma melhor qualidade dos dados obtidos e maiores chances de identificação individual, cumprindo seu papel científico e social. Foi realizado um estudo para verificar a relação existente entre as mortes por causa externa (especificando homicídios) ocorridos nas últimas décadas em Ribeirão Preto e região e os casos de ossadas encaminhadas ao LAF/CEMEL. Os homicídios reduziram de 34 para 7 casos por 100 mil habitantes/ano. Contudo, o número médio de ossadas encaminhadas ao LAF/CEMEL se manteve em um mesmo padrão no decorrer desses doze anos, evidenciando que não há relação entre o número de homicídios ocorridos em Ribeirão Preto e região com o número de ossadas encaminhadas ao LAF/CEMEL com diagnóstico de morte por causa externa. Estima-se que os casos de ossadas encaminhadas ao LAF/CEMEL estejam ligados com maior probabilidade aos crimes de execução e ocultação de cadáver nos canaviais de Ribeirão Preto e região. / Forensic Anthropology is an area of knowledge that applies the methods of physical anthropology and archeology for the collection and analysis of legal evidences, to establish the identity of a human being. The Legal Medicine Center (CEMEL), of the Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo (FMRP/USP) has a Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology (LAF), created in 2005 as a partnership project with the University of Sheffield (UK) and funded by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office Global Opportunities Fund. During this project, a protocol for the analysis of bones with an updated scientific framework applicable to the Brazilian social context was designed. During these twelve years there was an apparent change in the characteristics of the cases referred to the LAF/CEMEL, which led to the need of a detailed analysis and comparative of the cases. The purpose of this study was to show the historical evolution of the forensic anthropological cases analysis in LAF/CEMEL. In a first step, we analyzed the cases accumulated from 1999 to 2004. In a second step, we analyzed cases from 2005 to 2010. Finally, the study was conducted in accordance to the legal cause of death comparing the cases referred to LAF/CEMEL with the total cases of death from external causes in Ribeirão Preto and surrounding region. Based on the reports of Forensic Anthropology (REAFs), the predominant characteristic of bones analyzed anthropologically in LAF/CEMEL were: males, Caucasians, with an average age of 37 years (1999-2004) and 35 years (2005 to 2010 ), an average height of 1.68 meters (1999 to 2004) and 1.70 meters (2005 to 2010), handedness is non-specific (1999-2004), right-handed (2005-2010), with elements of dental information, with pathological findings (1999-2004) and no pathological findings (2005-2010), with clothing and/or belongings (1999-2004) and clothing and/or belongings (2005-2010). It was found that the parameters (eigth) analysed to identifying an individual only through the anthropological examination increased from 65% (1999 to 2004) to 93% (2005 to 2010). We conclude that the constant action in the anthropological analysis of bones has improved the quality of data and increased the likelihood of identifying, fulfilling its scientific and social role. A study was conducted to investigate the relationship between deaths from external causes (homicides) in recent decades occurred in Ribeirão Preto and surrounding region and the bones referred to LAF/CEMEL. Homicides decreased from 34 to 7 cases per 100 000 inhabitants/year. However, the average number of skeletons sent to LAF/CEMEL remained in the same pattern during these twelve years,, showing that there is no relationship between the number of homicides occurred in Ribeirão Preto and surrounding region with the number of bones sent to LAF/CEMEL diagnosed with death from external causes. It is estimated that the cases referred to the LAF/CEMEL bones are most likely linked to the crimes of running and hiding a corpse in the sugar cane fields of Ribeirão Preto and surrounding region.

A Antropologia Forense atua em análises dos mais diversos aspectos do ser humano aplicadas no interesse da Justiça. Na prática, atua na análise de restos humanos totalmente ou parcialmente esqueletizados no contexto de uma investigação, visando auxiliar ou até mesmo fornecer a identificação de cadáveres desconhecidos. Um dos poucos centros da especialidade no Brasil, o CEMEL baseia suas análises num protocolo de tomada de decisões, chamado LAF/CEMEL, elaborado desde 2005, que vem dando bons resultados, com níveis de identificação de ossadas na faixa de 38%. O protocolo é baseado em método de tabelas de decisões, analisando aspectos da anatomia óssea que permitam a classificação em sexo, ancestralidade, idade, estatura, dominância (destro/sinistro). No que tange à definição de sexo, baseia-se em informações de detalhes anatômicos principalmente da pelve, crânio e mandíbula. Elaborado em conjunto com pesquisadores da University of Sheffield (UK), no início se baseou em comparações com populações definidas, não miscigenadas: caucasiana, africana ou indígena/oriental. Porém, devido à miscigenação intensa da população brasileira, o protocolo LAF/CEMEL teve que ser adaptado, visando a melhora dos resultados. Da mesma forma, o que se tem atualmente em questão de análises antropométricas são dados da literatura mundial, na maioria das vezes estabelecidos para populações homogêneas com ancestralidade definida. Também nesse caso, há que se levar em conta a miscigenação, e até que ponto o método é eficaz ou, em associação com o protocolo atual, poderia torná-lo mais eficaz. Neste estudo foi proposta a avaliação de eficiência e eficácia do método antropométrico do triângulo do processo mastoide (porion, asterion e mastoidale) para estimativa de sexo, como descrito nos trabalhos de Kemkes e Göbel (2006) e Paiva e Segre (2003. Foram selecionados 74 crânios de ossadas sob a guarda do CEMEL/FMRP-USP. Destes, 28 foram excluídos por impossibilidade de execução do método antropométrico. Os 46 crânios restantes foram analisados, na forma de estudo cego, por três vezes pela antropometria e os resultados comparados entre si, assim como ao método do Protocolo LAF/CEMEL baseado em tomada de decisão. Os resultados demonstraram que, além do alto número de exclusões por impossibilidade de execução e da necessidade de refinamento técnico para evitar erros intraobservador, com imprecisão de até 16,9% e inexatidão de 67,4%, as somatórias das áreas obtidas contrastaram com os valores encontrados por Paiva e Segre (2003) em 60,9% dos casos. Conclui-se que, com o passar do tempo e refinamento técnico, o método antropométrico torna-se mais eficiente no que diz respeito à diminuição de erros do observador. Por outro lado, mostra-se ineficaz em estimar o sexo dos crânios analisados em amostra heterogênea (de população miscigenada), indicando o método de tomada de decisão como mais adequado. / Forensic Anthropology deals with the analysis of various aspects of the human being applied to the interests of justice. In practice, it works with skeletonized or partially skeletonized human remains in the context of an investigation, aiming to help or even provide the identification of unknown corpses. One of the few centers of expertise in Brazil, CEMEL bases its analysis on a decision-making protocol, named LAF/CEMEL, developed since 2005, which has given good results, reaching identification levels in the 38% range. The protocol is based on method of decision tables, analyzing aspects of bone anatomy to allow classification of sex, ancestry, age, height, dominance (right-handed/sinister). Regarding the estimation of sex, it is based on anatomical information especially of the pelvis, skull and jaw. Prepared in cooperation with researchers from the University of Sheffield (UK), it was based on comparisons with defined populations: Caucasian, African or Indigenous/Eastern. However, due to the intense miscegenation of the Brazilian population, the LAF/CEMEL protocol had to be adapted, aiming at the improvement of the results. However, the questions are if anthropometric analysis as presented in the literature, originated from and applied for homogeneous populations of defined ancestry could be used for Brazilian cases, considering its admixed ancestry and to what extent the method is effective or, in association with the current protocol, could make it more effective. This study was proposed to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of an anthropometric method of sex estimation from the mastoid process triangle (porion, asterion and mastoidale), as described by Kemkes and Göbel (2006) and Paiva and Segre (2003). Of 74 skulls selected from the CEMEL/FMRP-USP collection, 28 were excluded due to the impossibility of execution of the method. The remaining 46 skulls were measured three times and the results compared with each other, as well as with the assignments based on the classifications used in the LAF/CEMEL protocol. In addition to the number of exclusions due to impossibility of execution of the method and the need for technical refinements to avoid intra-observer errors, the imprecision reached until 16,9% and inaccuracy 67,4%. The obtained results disagreed with those obtained by Paiva and Segre (2003) in 60.9% of cases. Reduction of observer errors over time and with technical refinement led to the anthropometric method increasing in efficiency. It was not as effective in estimating the sex of the skulls in the heterogeneous admixed sample compared to the anthroposcopic methods of LAF/CEMEL, indicating that these are more useful on samples of this kind.

A Antropologia Forense é uma área de conhecimento que aplica os métodos da antropologia física e da arqueologia para coleta e análise de evidências legais, buscando estabelecer a identidade de um ser humano. O Centro de Medicina Legal (CEMEL) da Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto da Universidade de São Paulo (FMRP/USP) possui um Laboratório de Antropologia Forense (LAF), criado em 2005, em um projeto de parceria com a University of Sheffield (UK) e financiado pelo British Foreign and Commonwealth Office Global Opportunities Fund. Durante esse projeto, foi elaborado um protocolo para análise de ossadas com uma estrutura científica atualizada, aplicável ao contexto social brasileiro. Durante esses doze anos ocorreu uma aparente modificação das características dos casos encaminhados ao LAF/CEMEL, o que levou à necessidade de uma análise detalhada e comparativa dos casos. A proposta deste trabalho foi de evidenciar a evolução histórica dos casos de análise antropológica forense no LAF/CEMEL. Na primeira etapa foram analisados os casos acumulados de 1999 a 2004, na segunda etapa foram analisados os casos de 2005 a 2010, totalizando doze anos; por fim, foi realizado o estudo de acordo com a causa jurídica da morte, comparando os casos encaminhados ao LAF/CEMEL com os casos totais de morte por causa externa para Ribeirão Preto e região. Com base nos relatórios de Antropologia Forense (REAFs), as características antropológicas predominantes das ossadas analisadas no LAF/CEMEL foram: indivíduos do sexo masculino, caucasianos, com uma faixa etária média de 37 anos (1999 a 2004) e 35 anos (2005 a 2010); uma média de estatura de 1,68 metros (1999 a 2004) e 1,70 metros (2005 a 2010); destreza manual não determinada (1999 a 2004) e destros (2005 a 2010); com elementos odontológicos informativos; com achados patológicos (1999 a 2004) e achados patológicos ausentes (2005 a 2010); sem roupas e/ou pertences (1999 a 2004) e com roupas e/ou pertences (2005 a 2010). Foi verificado que os parâmetros (oito) analisados para a identificação de um indivíduo através do exame antropológico aumentou de 65% (1999 a 2004) para 93% (2005 a 2010). Conclui-se que a atuação constante na análise antropológica de ossadas tem levado a uma melhor qualidade dos dados obtidos e maiores chances de identificação individual, cumprindo seu papel científico e social. Foi realizado um estudo para verificar a relação existente entre as mortes por causa externa (especificando homicídios) ocorridos nas últimas décadas em Ribeirão Preto e região e os casos de ossadas encaminhadas ao LAF/CEMEL. Os homicídios reduziram de 34 para 7 casos por 100 mil habitantes/ano. Contudo, o número médio de ossadas encaminhadas ao LAF/CEMEL se manteve em um mesmo padrão no decorrer desses doze anos, evidenciando que não há relação entre o número de homicídios ocorridos em Ribeirão Preto e região com o número de ossadas encaminhadas ao LAF/CEMEL com diagnóstico de morte por causa externa. Estima-se que os casos de ossadas encaminhadas ao LAF/CEMEL estejam ligados com maior probabilidade aos crimes de execução e ocultação de cadáver nos canaviais de Ribeirão Preto e região. / Forensic Anthropology is an area of knowledge that applies the methods of physical anthropology and archeology for the collection and analysis of legal evidences, to establish the identity of a human being. The Legal Medicine Center (CEMEL), of the Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo (FMRP/USP) has a Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology (LAF), created in 2005 as a partnership project with the University of Sheffield (UK) and funded by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office Global Opportunities Fund. During this project, a protocol for the analysis of bones with an updated scientific framework applicable to the Brazilian social context was designed. During these twelve years there was an apparent change in the characteristics of the cases referred to the LAF/CEMEL, which led to the need of a detailed analysis and comparative of the cases. The purpose of this study was to show the historical evolution of the forensic anthropological cases analysis in LAF/CEMEL. In a first step, we analyzed the cases accumulated from 1999 to 2004. In a second step, we analyzed cases from 2005 to 2010. Finally, the study was conducted in accordance to the legal cause of death comparing the cases referred to LAF/CEMEL with the total cases of death from external causes in Ribeirão Preto and surrounding region. Based on the reports of Forensic Anthropology (REAFs), the predominant characteristic of bones analyzed anthropologically in LAF/CEMEL were: males, Caucasians, with an average age of 37 years (1999-2004) and 35 years (2005 to 2010 ), an average height of 1.68 meters (1999 to 2004) and 1.70 meters (2005 to 2010), handedness is non-specific (1999-2004), right-handed (2005-2010), with elements of dental information, with pathological findings (1999-2004) and no pathological findings (2005-2010), with clothing and/or belongings (1999-2004) and clothing and/or belongings (2005-2010). It was found that the parameters (eigth) analysed to identifying an individual only through the anthropological examination increased from 65% (1999 to 2004) to 93% (2005 to 2010). We conclude that the constant action in the anthropological analysis of bones has improved the quality of data and increased the likelihood of identifying, fulfilling its scientific and social role. A study was conducted to investigate the relationship between deaths from external causes (homicides) in recent decades occurred in Ribeirão Preto and surrounding region and the bones referred to LAF/CEMEL. Homicides decreased from 34 to 7 cases per 100 000 inhabitants/year. However, the average number of skeletons sent to LAF/CEMEL remained in the same pattern during these twelve years,, showing that there is no relationship between the number of homicides occurred in Ribeirão Preto and surrounding region with the number of bones sent to LAF/CEMEL diagnosed with death from external causes. It is estimated that the cases referred to the LAF/CEMEL bones are most likely linked to the crimes of running and hiding a corpse in the sugar cane fields of Ribeirão Preto and surrounding region.

A Antropologia Forense atua em análises dos mais diversos aspectos do ser humano aplicadas no interesse da Justiça. Na prática, atua na análise de restos humanos totalmente ou parcialmente esqueletizados no contexto de uma investigação, visando auxiliar ou até mesmo fornecer a identificação de cadáveres desconhecidos. Um dos poucos centros da especialidade no Brasil, o CEMEL baseia suas análises num protocolo de tomada de decisões, chamado LAF/CEMEL, elaborado desde 2005, que vem dando bons resultados, com níveis de identificação de ossadas na faixa de 38%. O protocolo é baseado em método de tabelas de decisões, analisando aspectos da anatomia óssea que permitam a classificação em sexo, ancestralidade, idade, estatura, dominância (destro/sinistro). No que tange à definição de sexo, baseia-se em informações de detalhes anatômicos principalmente da pelve, crânio e mandíbula. Elaborado em conjunto com pesquisadores da University of Sheffield (UK), no início se baseou em comparações com populações definidas, não miscigenadas: caucasiana, africana ou indígena/oriental. Porém, devido à miscigenação intensa da população brasileira, o protocolo LAF/CEMEL teve que ser adaptado, visando a melhora dos resultados. Da mesma forma, o que se tem atualmente em questão de análises antropométricas são dados da literatura mundial, na maioria das vezes estabelecidos para populações homogêneas com ancestralidade definida. Também nesse caso, há que se levar em conta a miscigenação, e até que ponto o método é eficaz ou, em associação com o protocolo atual, poderia torná-lo mais eficaz. Neste estudo foi proposta a avaliação de eficiência e eficácia do método antropométrico do triângulo do processo mastoide (porion, asterion e mastoidale) para estimativa de sexo, como descrito nos trabalhos de Kemkes e Göbel (2006) e Paiva e Segre (2003. Foram selecionados 74 crânios de ossadas sob a guarda do CEMEL/FMRP-USP. Destes, 28 foram excluídos por impossibilidade de execução do método antropométrico. Os 46 crânios restantes foram analisados, na forma de estudo cego, por três vezes pela antropometria e os resultados comparados entre si, assim como ao método do Protocolo LAF/CEMEL baseado em tomada de decisão. Os resultados demonstraram que, além do alto número de exclusões por impossibilidade de execução e da necessidade de refinamento técnico para evitar erros intraobservador, com imprecisão de até 16,9% e inexatidão de 67,4%, as somatórias das áreas obtidas contrastaram com os valores encontrados por Paiva e Segre (2003) em 60,9% dos casos. Conclui-se que, com o passar do tempo e refinamento técnico, o método antropométrico torna-se mais eficiente no que diz respeito à diminuição de erros do observador. Por outro lado, mostra-se ineficaz em estimar o sexo dos crânios analisados em amostra heterogênea (de população miscigenada), indicando o método de tomada de decisão como mais adequado. / Forensic Anthropology deals with the analysis of various aspects of the human being applied to the interests of justice. In practice, it works with skeletonized or partially skeletonized human remains in the context of an investigation, aiming to help or even provide the identification of unknown corpses. One of the few centers of expertise in Brazil, CEMEL bases its analysis on a decision-making protocol, named LAF/CEMEL, developed since 2005, which has given good results, reaching identification levels in the 38% range. The protocol is based on method of decision tables, analyzing aspects of bone anatomy to allow classification of sex, ancestry, age, height, dominance (right-handed/sinister). Regarding the estimation of sex, it is based on anatomical information especially of the pelvis, skull and jaw. Prepared in cooperation with researchers from the University of Sheffield (UK), it was based on comparisons with defined populations: Caucasian, African or Indigenous/Eastern. However, due to the intense miscegenation of the Brazilian population, the LAF/CEMEL protocol had to be adapted, aiming at the improvement of the results. However, the questions are if anthropometric analysis as presented in the literature, originated from and applied for homogeneous populations of defined ancestry could be used for Brazilian cases, considering its admixed ancestry and to what extent the method is effective or, in association with the current protocol, could make it more effective. This study was proposed to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of an anthropometric method of sex estimation from the mastoid process triangle (porion, asterion and mastoidale), as described by Kemkes and Göbel (2006) and Paiva and Segre (2003). Of 74 skulls selected from the CEMEL/FMRP-USP collection, 28 were excluded due to the impossibility of execution of the method. The remaining 46 skulls were measured three times and the results compared with each other, as well as with the assignments based on the classifications used in the LAF/CEMEL protocol. In addition to the number of exclusions due to impossibility of execution of the method and the need for technical refinements to avoid intra-observer errors, the imprecision reached until 16,9% and inaccuracy 67,4%. The obtained results disagreed with those obtained by Paiva and Segre (2003) in 60.9% of cases. Reduction of observer errors over time and with technical refinement led to the anthropometric method increasing in efficiency. It was not as effective in estimating the sex of the skulls in the heterogeneous admixed sample compared to the anthroposcopic methods of LAF/CEMEL, indicating that these are more useful on samples of this kind.

In the anthropological analysis of burned bone, the presence of a white heat line aids in determining a bone’s physical condition prior to burning, distinguishing between those burned fleshed or wet versus dry. However, while the relationship between this thermal signature and a bone’s physical condition has been studied, there is a lack of research concerning the chemical composition of white heat lines. The present study assessed the composition of white heat lines that form on burned bone using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) with the potassium bromide (KBr) pellet method. The present study examined the effects of soft tissue and the retention of bone’s organic material, including naturally-occurring grease and water, on the development and appearance of a white heat line. Experimental remains consisted of isolated long bones from white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), elk (Cervus canadensis), sheep (Ovis aries), and pig (Sus scrofa) in five physical conditions – fleshed (fresh bones with adhering soft tissue), very wet (recently defleshed bone, greasy), partially wet (defleshed, slight grease retention), dry (defleshed, naturally degreased), and soaked (formerly dry bone immersed in water). These bones were burned over a wood fire made within a 55-gallon drum. After a visual analysis to evaluate white heat line formation, chemical composition was analyzed by determining spectral peak heights of the carbonate (CO3) ν3 (1415 cm-1), phosphate (PO4) ν3 (1035 cm-1), and amide I (1660 cm-1) vibrational bands. These thermal signatures appear to form superficially, measuring approximately 1.5 mm in depth. Results indicate that white heat lines that formed on fleshed bone contain an increased amount of CO3, PO4, and amide I in comparison to their unburned controls, while those that formed on very wet bone contain decreased amounts instead. These findings further our knowledge of how fire modifies physical remains and the effect that bone’s physical condition prior to burning has on the development of a white heat line and the resulting compositional changes. In order to build upon the results gained from the present study, continuing research is needed to investigate compositional differences between white heat lines that form on fleshed versus very wet bone and to assess bone’s fat content as a possible contributing factor. Additional FTIR research is needed to assess the other vibrational bands of CO3, PO4, and amide that are present in bone.

Where do people die alone when they remain undiscovered for extended periods of time? Estimation of the postmortem interval (PMI) is critical to reconstructing the events surrounding a person's death and this is an area in which forensic anthropologists have played a leading role. This thesis applied an anthropological framework that takes a comprehensive approach to analyzing the demography of unaccompanied deaths, the relationships and timing of decomposition in multiple depositional contexts, and created a model for the prediction of accumulated degree days (ADD) for bodies within enclosures. While there have been extensive experimental and case study reviews on decomposition in outdoor environments, very little data exist for enclosed spaces. A retrospective analysis of 2003-2008 Nebraskan autopsy records demonstrates that most people dying alone are within their homes. Of the 87 forensic cases reviewed, 69 unaccompanied deaths occurred within enclosed environments. The value of retrospective studies in combination to experimental research is that the large number of variables that affect decompositional rates may be explored in a natural context. Multivariate models put emphasis on the dynamics of decompositional change and comprehensively address death and decomposition within an anthropological framework. For enclosed depositions, the PMI ranged from 1 - 66 days (n= 64, X¯=4.84, s.d.=9.1037) and the ADD ranged from 0 - 786 ADD (n=64, X¯=67.43, s.d.=120.275). Bass' (1997) model for outdoor surface decay was found to be an adequate predictor of the PMI for this sample (r=0.829, n=64, p These results provided support for the prediction of ADD as a measure of the rate of decomposition. Relationships among ADD and multiple intrinsic, extrinsic and epidemiological variables were identified and considered for a multiple linear regression model. Variables selected by the model included: decomposition odor, use of air conditioning/heat, marbling, brain liquefaction, and mummification. The model was found to account for 95.2% of the variation in ADD (Adjusted R² =0.952; F=40.807, df=5, 5 and p

Eyewitness recognition is acknowledged to be prone to error but there is less understanding of difficulty in discriminating unfamiliar faces. This thesis examined the effects of face perception on identification of facial composites, and on unfamiliar face image comparison. Facial composites depict face memories by reconstructing features and configurations to form a likeness. They are generally reconstructed from an unfamiliar face memory, and will be unavoidably flawed. Identification will require perception of any accurate features, by someone who is familiar with the suspect and performance is typically poor. In typical face perception, face images are processed efficiently as complete units of information. Chapter 2 explored the possibility that holistic processing of inaccurate composite configurations will impair identification of individual features. Composites were split below the eyes and misaligned to impair holistic analysis (cf. Young, Hellawell, & Jay, 1987); identification was significantly enhanced, indicating that perceptual expertise with inaccurate configurations exerts powerful effects that can be reduced by enabling featural analysis. Facial composite recognition is difficult, which means that perception and judgement will be influence by an affective recognition bias: smiles enhance perceived familiarity, while negative expressions produce the opposite effect. In applied use, facial composites are generally produced from unpleasant memories and will convey negative expression; affective bias will, therefore, be important for facial composite recognition. Chapter 3 explored the effect of positive expression on composite identification: composite expressions were enhanced, and positive affect significantly increased identification. Affective quality rather than expression strength mediated the effect, with subtle manipulations being very effective. Facial image comparison (FIC) involves discrimination of two or more face images. Accuracy in unfamiliar face matching is typically in the region of 70%, and as discrimination is difficult, may be influenced by affective bias. Chapter 4 explored the smiling face effect in unfamiliar face matching. When multiple items were compared, positive affect did not enhance performance and false positive identification increased. With a delayed matching procedure, identification was not enhanced but in contrast to face recognition and simultaneous matching, positive affect improved rejection of foil images. Distinctive faces are easier to discriminate. Chapter 5 evaluated a systematic caricature transformation as a means to increase distinctiveness and enhance discrimination of unfamiliar faces. Identification of matching face images did not improve, but successful rejection of non-matching items was significantly enhanced. Chapter 6 used face matching to explore the basis of own race bias in face perception. Other race faces were manipulated to show own race facial variation, and own race faces to show African American facial variation. When multiple face images were matched simultaneously, the transformation impaired performance for all of the images; but when images were individually matched, the transformation improved perception of other race faces and discrimination of own race faces declined. Transformation of Japanese faces to show own race dimensions produced the same pattern of effects but failed to reach significance. The results provide support for both perceptual expertise and featural processing theories of own race bias. Results are interpreted with reference to face perception theories; implications for application and future study are discussed.

Studies in human cranial variation are extensive and widely discussed. While skeletal biologists continue to focus on questions of biological distance and population history, group-specific knowledge is being increasingly used for human identification in medico-legal contexts. The importance of this research has been often overshadowed by both philosophic and methodological concerns. Many analyses have been constrained in their scope by the limited availability of representative samples and readily criticized for adopting statistical techniques that require user-guidance and a priori information. A multi-part project is presented here that implements model-based clustering as an alternative approach for population studies using craniometric traits. This project also introduces the use of forced-directed graphing and mixture-based supervised classification methods as statistically robust and practically useful techniques. This project considers three well-documented craniometric sources, whose samples collectively permit large-scale analyses and tests of population structure at a variety of partitions and for different goals. The craniofacial measurements drawn from the world-wide data sets collected by Howells and Hanihara permit rigorous tests for group differences and cryptic population structure. The inclusion of modern American samples from the Forensic Anthropology Data Bank allows for investigations into the importance of biosocial race and biogeographic ancestry in forensic anthropology. Demographic information from the United States Census Bureau is used to contextualize these samples within the range of the racial diversity represented in the American population-at-large. This project's findings support the presence of population structure, the utility of finite mixture methods to questions of biological classification, and the validity of supervised discrimination methods as reliable tools. They also attest to the importance of context for producing the most useful information on identity and affinity. These results suggest that a meaningful relationship between statistically inferred clusters and predefined groups does exist and that population-informative differences in cranial morphology can be detected with measured degrees of statistical certainty, even when true memberships are unknown. They imply, in turn, that the estimation of biogeographic ancestry and the identification of biosocial race in forensic anthropology can provide useful information for modern American casework that can be evidenced by scientific methods.

DNA profiling has ignited public interest and consequently their expectations for the capabilities of forensic criminal and science investigations. The prospect of characterising the genetic makeup of individuals or trace samples from a wide variety of depositional and post-mortem circumstances raises the question of how reliable the methods are given the potential for prolonged exposure to variation in environmental factors, i.e. temperature, pH, UV irradiation and humidity, that are known to induce damage to DNA. Thus, it is crucial to verify the validity of the DNA profiling for characterising the genetic makeup of post-mortem tissues. This project aimed to assess the reliability of sequence and microsatellite based genotyping of tissues (muscle, hair and bone) sampled from carcasses over a two year post-mortem period. This assessment investigated the impact of environment induced DNA degradation in the local geographic region that is typical of the circumstances that confront forensic practitioners in southern Australia and to utilise rigorous controls by studying animals whose time of death and burial was known and for which we had pre-decay tissue samples available. A ‘body farm’ with 12 pig carcasses on the northern Adelaide plains, ~60km north of Adelaide, which has a typical southern Australian Mediterranean climate, i.e. cold wet winters and hot dry summers. Pigs (Sus scrofa) were used as an experimental analogue for human subjects because of the logistical and ethical reasons. The pig carcasses were allocated among three treatments: four were left on the surface, four were buried at 1m depth, and four were buried at 2 m depth. These ‘burial’ conditions mimic a range of conditions encountered typically in forensic and archaeological studies. Cortical bone samples were taken from each pig carcass at one week, one month, three months, six months, one year and two years post-mortem and muscle and hair over the same sampling period for as long as those tissue types were present. A set of PCR primers to amplify two (short and a long) fragments from the hypervariable part of the mitochondrial control region (HVRI) that is used in forensic and evolutionary studies of humans and many other mammal species were developed. Also a panel of four pig microsatellite loci with fluorescent labels to facilitate automated multiplex genotyping. These loci matched as closely as possible the core motifs and allele lengths typical of the commercially available microsatellite marker kits used in Australian forensic science labs so that our experiments were as good a model as possible of the human forensic DNA technology. In this study it was possible to retrieve samples from muscle tissue up to 90 days, hair up to one year and bone at two years post-mortem. The analyses showed that the long and short HVRI region PCR fragments were only amplifiable up to 30 days from muscle tissue and that these fragments were amplifiable up to one year from hair. In contrast, in cortical bone both PCR fragments were amplifiable up to two years. The long fragment disappeared in muscle tissue completely after 30 days and in hair after six months. However, the long fragment was present in cortical bone even at two years. Overall, there was a general trend of loss of concentration of both the long and short fragments over time. Comparisons of the HVRI nucleotide sequences among tissues sampled from individual animals showed substitution changes in muscles as early as 30 days (3 out of 6 individuals) and hair at six months (1 out of 6 individuals). In contrast, in cortical bone substitutions first appeared at 365 days (1 out of 6 individuals). The most common substitution observed in all tissues types was the C-T transition, with A-G transversions observed in two episodes and C-A transversion observed in one episode. Analyses of microsatellite genotypes in muscle tissues showed high allele peaks on chromatograms up to day seven samples. However, by three months PCR was not successful from muscle tissue. While, bone tissue had lower allele peak heights compared to the muscle tissues, alleles were detectable up to six months. Allele drop out occurred for one animal (at 2 meters) in muscle tissue at the dinucleotide locus and for another animal (kept on surface) also in muscle tissue at a tetranucleotide locus. Stuttering was observed for a single animal at dinucleotide locus in muscle tissue (buried sample 2 meter depth). No stuttering or allele drop outs were seen in the bone tissue. Overall the four loci completely disappeared after 30 days in muscle tissue and after 180 days in bone tissue. In summary, analyses showed that post-mortem DNA degradation was present in all the three tissue types (muscle, hair and bone). The types of damage identified were DNA fragmentation, nucleotide substitutions and DNA loss, which resulted in a diminished frequency of successful PCR for mitochondrial and nuclear markers over time and stuttering and allele drop out in microsatellite genotyping. In addition, two nucleotide substitutions were concentrated in ‘hotspots’ that correlate with sites of elevated mutation rate in vivo. Also the frequency of successful PCR of longer nuclear and mitochondrial PCR products declined markedly more quickly than for shorter products. These changes were first observed at much shorter post mortem intervals in muscle and much longer post mortem intervals in hair and bone tissue. When considering the carcass deposition treatments, tissues that were retrieved from buried carcases showed higher levels of DNA degradation compared to tissues retrieved from carcases left on the surface. Overall, muscle tissue is a good source for DNA analysis in immediate post mortem samples, whereas hair and bone tissue are good source for DNA analysis from older samples. When comparing the microsatellite genotyping and mtDNA analyses, mtDNA is a reliable source for DNA analysis from tissue recovered from bodies that had decayed for longer post-mortem durations such as months to years, whereas microsatellite genotyping gives reliable results for tissue from shorter post mortem intervals (hours to few days). Therefore it is recommended that when analysing mtDNA sequences, cloning and sequencing PCR products can help to identify the base pair substitutions especially for tissue retrieved from longer post mortem intervals. In addition, increasing the template DNA concentrations and "neutralising" co-extracted DNA inhibitors should be considered when dealing with tissue from longer post mortem intervals. Finally, the more stringent protocols used in ancient DNA studies should be considered when dealing with tissue with much longer post mortem intervals in forensic settings. / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Medical Sciences, 2009