<p>Although sharp force trauma is not the most common form of homicide in the United States, it accounts for the majority of violent crimes committed in the United Kingdom, and the frequency of knife related crimes has been increasing over several decades. Despite the prevalence of sharp force trauma in forensic literature, there is still a large gap linking weapons to skeletal injuries. Although there have been forensic studies on the effects of fabric during decomposition, very little data exist on the effects of fabric and bodily coverings on wounds during stabbing events. In a significant number of homicide cases, victims are clothed. Therefore, understanding the effects of bodily coverings is crucial to better understanding a number of forensic contexts. In this thesis, a preliminary pilot study and a skeletal cut mark analysis study with a guided-drop impacting device were used to address this issue by analyzing the effects of fabric resistance during stabbing events. The results indicated that weapon type and fabric type significantly altered kerf mark appearance (p&lt;0.05). Weapon type had a significant effect on kerf wall gradients, marginal distortion, width, and depth (p&lt;0.05). Fabric type significantly altered wall gradients, width, and depth (p&lt;0.05). Finally, low powered standard light microscopy was shown to be an accurate and inexpensive method for examining cut marks on bone. </p>

<p> Forensic scientists, archaeologists, and paleontologists are interested in understanding fluvial bone transport respectively to find human remains, determine if human behavioral information persists in skeletal assemblages, or to estimate the temporal and spatial resolution of fossil assemblages. This dissertation reviews what we think we understand about fluvial bone transport, then tests the hypotheses that: 1. Elongate and concave bones adopt preferred orientations relative to flow, 2. There is a relationship between bone shape and relative transportability, and 3. There is a relationship between bone density and relative transportability. Generally two research techniques prevail, 1. Flume observations, and 2. Fluvial seeding trials. Flume data are often poorly reported, have small sample sizes, and the conditions within the flume are usually incompletely reported. Fluvial seeding trial results are characterized by a series of well documented anecdotes, largely due to specimen loss causing small sample sizes. The results from these techniques are contradictory so research to clarify what conclusions are valid is needed. Three techniques were utilized to address these problems, river surveys, river seeding trials, and river seeding trials using bone casts. No correlation between elongate bone orientation (N=157) and flow direction was observed, though concave bones (N=89) oriented &sim;70% concave down, while flat bones lay flat against the bed. Similarly, there was no association between bone shape and transportability. Denser bones were less transportable than less dense bones however there was substantial overlap in transportability between dense and less dense bone casts. These results suggest our understanding of bone transport is simplistic and incomplete. This is probably because most research has utilized flumes which provide unrealistically uniform conditions, so flume results are a poor analog for the heterogeneous natural environment. Moreover, bones are constantly changing density which is a variable previous authors have more or less assumed was constant. This simplifying assumption is violated so frequently that this assumption has led the scientific community to assume bone transport behaviors that are not frequently observed in natural systems. Ultimately the analytical tools based on this incomplete understanding of bone transport should be discontinued or validated to avoid spurious conclusions when interpreting skeletal assemblages.</p>

<p> This study examines whether 500 solid copper bullets fired from a 9mm firearm would have a significant effect on the individual rifling characteristics of the barrels of a Glock Model 17, a Beretta Model M9, and a Taurus Model PT 92 AF. Five silicone casts of each barrel bore were prepared over the course of this study. The casts were used to compare and evaluate the wear on the rifling of each barrel and note any changes that may have occurred during the progression of the study. The bullets were purchased as reloading components and were tested for hardness in addition to Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) analysis. The bullets used for examination were collected at the start, throughout the experiment, and after the firearm had been cleaned following the 500 firings. The bullets, as well as barrel casts, were analyzed using a Leica FS C comparison microscope. Results from the analysis indicate the bullets do not obturate and they do not engage with the grooves of each barrel. Analysis of land impressions show striations that deteriorate or disappear completely; while others appear over the course of firing the 500 copper bullets. Regarding the influence of the bullet wear on the individual rifling characteristics, the striations of each firearm barrel were permanently changed to the point where bullet identification no longer was possible.</p><p>

Following cultural anthropological inquiry, this dissertation examines the adoption of shamanic healing techniques into Western medicine and the resultant hybrid modality of health care fostered by two disparate healing traditions. As the U.S. populace increasingly turns to alternative forms of healing in conjunction with, or in lieu of, conventional Western medicine, shamanic healing has been added to the list of recognized non-conventional therapies. Shamanism, once prevalent throughout most of the world in various cultural forms, is purported to be the oldest healing modality, dating back to the Upper Paleolithic in Siberia. Historical excoriation and extermination from religious and political dogma have plagued shamanic cultures for centuries while their healing practices have been rebuked by Western concepts emergent from the Scientific Revolution—whereupon the Cartesian Split and a corporeal view of the body transformed the field of medicine. In the United States, over the last decade, a new and growing subculture of health care practitioners, including “Western” educated medical practitioners, is seeking out shamanic training for personal and professional development. This study examines how the adoption of a healing paradigm borne out of indigenous cultures oriented toward communal living and local economies is adapted to a Western culture steeped in individualism, commercialization, and commodification. Through surveys, interviews, and ethnographic research, the investigator provides numerous examples and analysis of the practice of shamanic healing techniques in medical clinics, health care centers, and hospitals. In particular, this study will focus on the shamanic training of health care practitioners, their motivations, the manner in which they incorporate shamanic healing techniques into their treatment protocols, as well as patient/colleague/administrative responses and institutional barriers. A comparative analysis provides discussion on both the metamorphosis of shamanic healing traditions appropriated within a biomedical framework as well as the influence of spiritually-based healing practices upon the established medical culture in the United States today. Through the lens of highlighted individual experiences, the investigator offers insight into an emerging hybrid healing modality embedded in cultural contrasts that also serves as a catalyst for the renegotiation of the meaning of healing.

Tooth mark and gnaw damage modifications on bone from African carnivores have been extensively examined; however, there are little data on North American carnivores, especially on ursids. Tooth mark modifications include pits, punctures, scores, and furrows, while gnaw damage modifications include crenellated margins, edge polish, scalloping, scooping, and crushed margins. Forensically, tooth mark identification and measurements allow for easier identification of species involved in cases containing predator or scavenger alteration. The present study hypothesized that black bear (Ursus americanus) and grizzly bear (U. arctos) tooth marks will be able to be distinguished from one another and the two bear species will have different gnawing patterns. Further, the study hypothesized that ursid tooth marks and gnaw damage will be distinguishable from other documented carnivore alterations. In the present study, black bears and grizzly bears from the Oakland Zoo were fed 56 proximal and distal femoral epiphyses from cattle (Bos taurus). The skeletal remains were cleaned and analyzed at Boston University, School of Medicine for pits, punctures, scores, and furrows. Each tooth mark was photographed and then processed through the open-source software ImageJ (National Institutes of Health) in order to obtain the area, perimeter, length, and width of each tooth mark. The presence of certain gnaw damage characteristics were also recorded for each bone, such as crenellated margins, edge polish, scalloping, scooping, and deep furrows. Statistical analyses were used to distinguish if the epiphysis type (proximal or distal) or bear species were statistically significant factors in the type of tooth mark and gnaw damage. The results indicate a pattern distinctive to ursid scavenging with pits with an average length of 3.53 mm and width of 2.19 mm, an average score width of 1.47 mm, scalloping on the distal epiphysis especially on the patellar surface of the femur, scooping on the proximal epiphysis especially on the greater trochanter of the femur, and deep furrows primarily on the distal epiphysis along the patellar region and condyles of the femur. When comparing the present study to previous ursid studies (Arilla et al. 2014; Domínguez-Rodrigo and Piqueras 2003; Sala and Arsuaga 2013; Saladié et al. 2011) and previous other carnivore studies (Andrés et al. 2012; Delaney-Rivera et al. 2009; Pobiner 2007), there was a statistical significance between ursid pits and fox (Vulpes vulpes), skunk (Mephitis mephitis), and the combination of hyena (Crocuta crocuta) and lion (Panthera leo) pits. Scooping occurred in 35.2% of the entire sample, while scalloping occurred in 29.6% of the entire sample. Scooping has been observed in previous research but not as high of a percentage as the present study, and scalloping has been noted in a black bear study (Carson et al. 2000) and a wolf/dog study (Milner and Smith 1989), but with no numerical data for comparison. The high percentage of scooping and scalloping on long bones could be distinctive characteristics of ursid gnaw damage and could distinguish ursid scavenging from other carnivores.

The present research examines the effects of multiple different implements on long bones to determine if there is a point at which blunt force trauma becomes distinguishable from hacking trauma. Limb bones of the white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) were used in this research as a substitute for human bone. In addition to the use of purchased tools, seven of the implements used in the present research were created and designed to imitate the size and impact angle of other surfaces possibly found in hacking and blunt force trauma. A hacking machine was used to inflict trauma on the long bones at a consistent, controlled level of force. The resulting trauma was then photographed and analyzed to determine if there is a macroscopically distinguishable point at which an implement will inflict characteristics of blunt force trauma, with no visible hacking trauma characteristics. The analytical observations of the trauma involved scoring for elements such as hacking characteristic appearance as well as the amount of fracturing and fragmentation. The author hypothesized that when the angle of the implement’s striking surface reaches 60 degrees, the trauma would consist of blunt force characteristics and not of hacking characteristics, and a V-shaped kerf would cease to appear. The author also hypothesized that there would be an increase in comminuted fractures in more blunt blade angles, while hacking trauma would exhibit more transverse and oblique fractures. The present study found that there was a statistically significant relationship between the composite hacking scores and the blade angles (the striking surface of the implement), with a p-value of 0.011. The author concluded that blunt force trauma and hacking trauma can be distinguished by the composite hacking scores, with a score of one indicating blunt force implements and scores of three or four indicating hacking implements. The entrance widths of the impacts also had a statistically significant relationship with the implement blade angles, with a p-value of 0.037. When the elements were bisected as a result of the impact, the data generated was characterized into having bisected into three identifiable fragments or a minimum of four identifiable fragments. With regards to the data for elements with three identifiable fragments, it was found that there was a statistically significant relationship between fragmentation and the implement blade angle, with a p-value of 0.036. When examining the visibility of a V-shaped kerf in the bones, the author concluded that there is a statistically significant relationship between the blade angles and the visibility of these kerfs, with the visibility decreasing around the 60 blade angle (p-value = 0.003). With regards to the fracture patterns, there was a correlation between the appearance of transverse fractures, with a decrease in more blunt blade angles (p-value = 0.004). Additionally, the author discovered a correlation between clean cut impact site appearances and smaller blade angles, as well as with crushing and fragmentation correlating to more blunt blade angles. The data from this research should assist in establishing guidelines to determine the type of trauma inflicted in forensic cases of hacking trauma and blunt force skeletal trauma.

In order to support identification of crime victims in South Africa, new methods need to be sought. If victim identification involving fingerprints, DNA or dental records are not possible, facial approximation is often the only alternative. In order to gain necessary background data for the identification of unknown individuals, e.g. for facial approximations, facial features of modern South Africans need to be investigated and shape-influencing factors identified. New imaging technologies have opened the possibility of including living, dentate individuals, as specimens in skeletal collections are often edentulous. The aim of this dissertation was to assess chin shape variation and the factors influencing it, in black and white South Africans. In the first part, the mental eminence was assessed by applying a morphoscopic sex estimation technique, to test its applicability to 105 dry mandibles from the Pretoria Bone Collection, and to the respective micro-focus X-ray computed tomography (micro-XCT) scans, obtained at the Nuclear Energy Corporation South Africa. Fleiss Kappa, Cohen’s Kappa and Wilcoxon Signed-Rank tests were applied. Score frequencies and observer performance were analysed. In the second part, the chin shape was assessed by quantifying its morphology, applying geometric morphometric methods to 291 retrospectively collected CBCT scans. The scans were obtained for medical reasons from dental patients, at the Oral and Dental Hospital, University of Pretoria. The possible influences of ancestry, sex, age and allometry on the chin shape were tested, using MAN(C)OVA, 50-50 MANOVA, permutation tests and discriminant function analysis (DFA) on the x-, y- and z-coordinates of the anatomical landmarks. The morphoscopic method to estimate sex on the mental eminence, originally applied to bone, was found to be applicable to micro-XCT scans as well, and observer performance did not vary greatly between the two modalities. However, an observer’s personal affinity to assess 3D images, the level of experience and tendency to over- or underscore in one of the two modalities cannot be excluded and should be individually tested. The chins of black females and white males had the highest probabilities of correct sex estimation. Ancestry, age and allometry were significant chin shape influencing factors in the complete sample. In addition, ancestry influenced the chin shape significantly within the sex groups, allometry within the ancestral groups. Sexual dimorphism significantly influenced chin shape in the complete sample on the bony menton and in the ancestral groups. Most results from both parts of the study concurred, except the influence of age. With the increasing availability of imaging techniques in forensic anthropology, researchers are motivated to look for new, and validate existing, methods in 3D. By assessing the applicability of a morphoscopic sex estimation technique to micro-XCT scans, and by investigating the chin shape variation using CBCT scans, the present study contributed to the quantifiable biological profiling methods involving 3D imaging techniques in South Africa. This study could encourage further research on all five traits of the morphoscopic method in bone and 3D surfaces, and of the soft-tissue shape of the chin in the same populations. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Anatomy / MSc (Anatomy) / Unrestricted

The present study examined the decomposition of neonate pig samples (n = 42) in a freshwater pond located in Holliston, Massachusetts. They were individually placed either in a mesh bag (control group), a trash bag, or a backpack to determine whether trash bags or backpacks affected the rate of decomposition in a freshwater pond. Six pigs were present at each recovery period: two as control specimens, two placed in trash bags, and two placed in backpacks. The neonate pigs were assessed at seven different recovery periods: one week, two weeks, four weeks, twelve weeks, twenty-four weeks, thirty-five weeks, and forty-eight weeks. Throughout the study, decomposition was assessed using the scoring methods of Heaton et al. (2010) and Keough et al. (2017) along with photographs and written descriptions. It was hypothesized that the enclosed remains would decompose at a slower rate than the exposed remains; however, this was not the case. Due to scavenging, the trash bag specimens were removed from statistical analysis. Statistical analyses determined that there was not a statistically significant difference in the Total Body Scores (p = 0.511), the Total Aquatic Decomposition Scores (p = 0.635), and percent mass loss (p = 0.265) between the control groups and the backpack groups.

Secular change has been documented in a number of studies focused on cranial and postcranial morphometrics and nonmetric traits. However, to date, few studies have addressed the potential of temporal change occurring in the expression of cranial nonmetric traits utilized in ancestry estimation. This study examines the effect of secular change on the expression of 23 cranial and mandibular nonmetric traits frequently employed in ancestry estimation; with age-at-death, sex, and year-of-birth of each individual documented for data analysis. Data were collected from European American individuals from the Hamann-Todd Skeletal Collection (n=518) and from the William M. Bass Donated Skeletal Collection (n=602). Individuals were divided into birth-year cohorts as follows: Hamann-Todd Skeletal Collection: 1824-1849 (Cohort 1), 1850-1874 (Cohort 2), 1875-1899 (Cohort 3), and 1900-1924 (Cohort 4); William M. Bass Donated Skeletal Collection: 1900-1924 (Cohort 4), 1925-1949 (Cohort 5), and 1950-1987 (Cohort 6). Pearson’s chi-square analyses produced significant p-values (≤ 0.01) in 19 of the 23 traits between the six birth-year cohorts. Factor maps generated through correspondence analyses were used as visual representations of relative trait expression between the cohorts. Ordinal regression analyses assessed the degree of variation between each cohort in relation to Cohort 1 along with the influence of age-at-death and sex on trait expression. Overall, analyses of the data revealed that secular change has occurred in 11 of the 23 traits, including: anterior nasal spine (ANS), malar tubercle (MT), nasal bone contour (NBC), postbregmatic depression (PBD), supranasal suture (SPS), transverse palatine suture (TPS), zygomaticomaxillary suture (ZS), gonial angle flare (GAF), mandibular tori (MDT), and posterior ramus edge inversion (PREI). Change in trait expression occurred in both males and females in seven traits, including: ANS, MT, TPS, ZS, GAF, MDT, and PREI. Significant change in trait expression occurred predominately between Cohorts 3 and 4 (birth years ranging from 1875 to 1924) and Cohorts 4 and 5 (birth years ranging from 1900 to 1949). This study demonstrates that secular change in nonmetric cranial and mandibular traits has occurred over the last two centuries with the greatest change appearing at the turn of the twentieth century.

A component to some forensic cases is being able to identify tool class, whether it is a murder weapon or if a tool was used postmortem in dismemberment. The goal of the present study is to determine if it is possible to identify tool class macroscopically and/or what level of force was applied in cases involving hacking. Three hypotheses are proposed. The first is that the cutmarks would appear differently at the varying levels of impact force for the same implements, including patterns of fractures, number of fragments, size of fragments, and appearance of the cutmark, i.e., the kerf. The second hypothesis is that there would be observable macroscopic differences on the cutmarks between tool classes, and the ability to distinguish between tool classes will not be affected by the differences from various levels of force of impact. The third hypothesis is that these observable macroscopic differences can be used to create prediction tables that can be used for predicting tool class and the level of force applied. Using a device created to simulate hacking, the long bones of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), a chef’s knife, cleaver, machete, and axe were tested at three different impact forces each. The author examined the hack marks on the bones quantitatively by measuring the kerf width and depth, number of fragments present, as well as qualitatively by describing any fractures present and the appearance of the entrance and exits. It was found that there is a statistically significant relationship between the implement and the entrance width (p-value = 7.27e-13). There is a statistically significant relationship between the force of impact and the entrance width (p-value = 5.57-06), overall entrance appearance (clean cut: p-value = 2.40e-06; chattered: p-value = 0.004), and conchoidal flaking (p-value = 0.025). There is also a statistically significant relationship between the implement and the level of force as a combined influence, as opposed to separate influences, and if the overall appearance of the entrance is chattered (p-value = 0.017). These relationships support the first two proposed hypotheses. Recursive partition and regression trees were created for each implement to determine what characteristics may be used to create prediction guides based on the collected data. The results of the experiment were used in the creation of an implement prediction guide and force of impact prediction tables. A blind test showed that the implement prediction guide was accurate 50% of the time and that the force of impact prediction tables were accurate 10% of the time. While this is low accuracy, it indicates that this research has potential to help with hacking trauma analysis as a baseline for future research, but is not applicable at this time, accepting the null hypothesis for the third hypothesis.