Additional Aspects of Individualization

some other methods used to help identify the decedent:

facial reproduction/reconstruction; assessing handedness; estimating body weight

(individualization) can increase the likelihood of a...

match between human remains and a missing persons file

(individualization) HOWEVER...

most of these techniques are not widely used; debate as to their reliability

(facial reproduction) involves...

clay sculpting; artist drawings; computer graphics

(facial reproduction) goal:

recreate the appearance of the person's face in life

(facial reproduction) has a long history (beginning in the...

late 1800s)

(facial reproduction) only very recently used for...

forensic casework

(facial reproduction) the face is composed of...

thick and thin tissues

(facial reproduction) use landmarks for...

measurement

(facial reproduction) thickness standards are estimated from...

cadavers

(facial reproduction) error due to:

skin thickness differences between the dead and living; inward deformation of tissue at the point of insertion; difficulty with finding the exact locations for measurement; sex, weight, and ancestral differences

(facial reproduction) new techniques use...

3D surface and CT scanning to get thicknesses

(assessing handedness) who argued that handedness can be estimated?

T.D. Stewart (1979)

(assessing handedness) estimate by observing which...

side of the skeleton has the largest and most modified bones

(assessing handedness) HOWEVER,

most more recent studies do not supported this; differing definitions of handedness; greater percentage of right-handed than left-handed

(assessing handedness) at present time, handedness cannot be determined with accuracy from...

the skeleton

(estimating body mass) relatively new...

research

(estimating body mass) combines knowledge of...

biomechanics and pathology

pathology:

emaciation & obesity

emaciation

hypertrophic pathologies, low bone mineral density

obesity

DISH in the spine, osteoarthritis, and other degenerative diseases; trauma to the medial side of the knee

biomechanics

cross sectional area of the femur; bone mineral density

(estimating body mass) both are highly correlated to weight...

pathology and biomechanics

(estimating body mass) some forensic anthropologists believe that body weight can be estimated from several variables

begin by estimating sex and stature; then use height-weight charts to correlate these two characteristics; should observe skeletal robusticity and muscle markings (thin and light bones vs. robust and heavy; slight muscle markings vs. heavy muscle markings)

(estimating body mass) some forensic anthropologists believe that body weight can be estimated from several variables HOWEVER,

wide variation exists between these factors and body weight

cremation of the dead dates...

back to antiquity

cremation in the US (contemporary)

body placed in receptacle like wooden casket or heavy cardboard container; temperatures of 1500-1600F created by air jets; after cremains cool, a magnet is used to remove metal objects; cremains are mechanically pulverized; cremains transferred to urn or other container

(cremains) research undertaken due to...

increased use of cremation in the US in the last 20 years

(cremains) attempting to address instances of mishandling of remains

difficult

(cremains) difficult due to changes to bone due to:

heat & mechanical reduction

(cremains) goals of analysis:

confirm remains are human; confirm remains represent 1 individual; establish remains most likely belonged to a particular individual

(cremains) identification based on...

preponderance of presumptive evidence

(cremains) steps of investigation:

total weight; microscopic analysis of osseous (bones and teeth) materials; microscopic analysis of nonosseous (cremation artifacts) materials

(cremains) no DNA!

temperatures of cremation are too hot!

(cremains) osseous characteristics

degree of color change; amount of fragment versus ash; lead and calcium content in remaining fragments

(cremains) nonosseous characteristics

coffin hardware; medical and dental artifacts