Forensics (Anthropology)

This presentation will impact the forensic science community by shedding new light on the thermal stability of bone collagen, allowing for an improved prediction of the success rate of collagen extraction for subsequent analyses such as dating or stable isotope analyses.

All amino acids found in proteins exist as one of two possible stereoisomers, known as L-amino acids and D-amino acids. With the exception of glycine, all amino acids are L-amino acids, which however have the ability to change into the D-form over time. The process of reaching an equilibrium between the L and the D form is called racemization. Amino Acid Racemization (AAR) is a time and temperature dependent process that has found application in the dating of materials, paleothermometry and age at death estimation. Currently there is no clear consensus in the literature regarding the thermal stability of collagen, an issue which this research sheds more light on. Sheep (ovis aries) ribs were cut into 4 cm long pieces and burnt at temperatures between 100 and 1000 °C in 50 °C increments for 45 minutes. All samples were weighed pre and post burning. For demineralization samples were suspended in 0.5 M HCl, which was exchanged every 2 days. After 10 days the HCl was removed and replaced by distilled water until a solution of pH 3 was obtained. Samples were heated at 70 °C for 48 hours and subsequently filtered. The extracted collagen was frozen at -20 °C. 250 μL of solution from each sample were placed in a sterile glass vial adding 100 μL 7 M HCl per sample. The vials were flushed with nitrogen, heated at 110 °C for 18 hours and subsequently dried under vacuum in a centrifugal evaporator. Samples were rehydrated for analysis. The sample’s amino acid composition was analyzed by reverse-phase HPLC using fluorescent detection. 2 μL of sample was injected and mixed with 2.2 μL derivitizing reagent. The amino acids were separated on a C18 HyperSil BDS column (5 mm * 250 mm) at 25 °C using a gradient elution of 3 solvents: sodium acetate buffer, methanol and acetonitrile. The fluorescence detector uses a xenon-arc flash lamp at a frequency of 55 Hz with a 280 nm cut-off filter and an excitation wavelength of 230 nm and emission wavelength of 445 nm. The D and L isomers of 12 amino acids could be analyzed, namely serine, L-threonine, L-histidine, glycine, L-arginine, alanine, tyrosine, valine, phenylalanine, leucine, isoleucine as well as aspartic acid and glutamic acid. The amino acid concentration rapidly decreases from 250 °C onwards, being below reliable detection levels from 400 °C. Up to temperatures of 250 °C, solely aspartic acid racemizes, reaching a D/L ratio of 0.3 at 250 °C. From 300 °C onwards the other amino acids commence racemization. From 400 °C onwards, the total amino acid concentration is too low to accurately depict D/L ratios. The composition of amino acids was dominated by collagen up to 400 °C. The findings illustrate the thermal degradation of bone collagen. Up to 250 °C virtually no amino acid racemization with the exception of aspartic acid, which is one of the only amino acids which can racemize whilst still internally bound, takes place. Collagen, when heated, begins to locally unravel its triple helix, releasing the collagen stabilizing H-bonded water, which leads to a gradual collapse of the triple helical structure at around 150 °C. At temperatures from between 250-300 °C a sudden drop in total amino acid concentration as well as the commencing of racemization of all other amino acids can be observed indicating a catastrophic breakdown of collagen. The now free amino acids continue racemization up until their complete combustion from around 400 °C onwards. Successful collagen extraction is the basis for a multitude of forensically relevant analyses, such as stable isotope analysis, radio carbon dating or genetic profiling. Being able to accurately determine the point at which collagen denaturizes and amino acids are lost is therefore of paramount importance for forensic analyses.

Background & Objectives: Bioanthropological research must be built upon a foundation of accurate age and sex estimates. Age and sex estimation from dental radiographs is a non-destructive, simple method to obtain information. The objectives of the present dissertation were to analyze six
dental age and sex estimation methods regarding their comparative validity and practical implementation using 600 digital orthopantograms. Furthermore, a purpose of the investigation was to supplement the literature with data on dental age and sex estimation in Egyptians and Tunisians
individuals.
Methods: The orthopantomograms were selected based on the
inclusion and exclusion criteria set forth for the study. Aging and sexing of modern Egyptian and Tunisian populations as follows: Sex assessment using discriminant Function analysis of mandibular measurements, mandibular ramus flexure and of mandibular canine index, The estimated gender was
then compared with the known gender and percentage accuracy of determination was calculated, while age was assessed using orthopantomographic indices of the pulp of mandibular canine namely coronal pulp cavity index, pulp-tooth area index and linear measurement of
the pulp cavity
Results: The results showed that the mandibular ramus flexure, mandibular canine index and discriminant function analysis for sex determination among the study populations using digital orthopantomogrms can be used to diagnose sex with an average accuracy up to 86%. Similarly the pulp tooth area, the coronal pulp cavity index and linear measurement of pulp  were used for age estimation using mandibular canines, statistically significant correlation between age and the study variables was revealed. This work revealed no significant difference between chronological and estimated
ages. Different equations for age estimation in the resent research yielded an error of age estimation about 2.5 years as a mean value for both the Egyptians and Tunisians which is much lower than most that of anthropological methods
Moreover, it was shown that a combination of variables potentially leads to increases of the predictive power beyond the capabilities of each method alone for both age and sex estimation. A new function for sex determination for the Egyptians and Tunisian was derived as population specific method for sex determination that yielded a more accurate sex estimate.
Conclusion: Consequently, it was concluded that, this research showed promising results for dental age and sex estimation in a non-invasive manner using dental digital orthopantomograms of Egyptian and Tunisians populations. Moreover, population-specific equations were introduced to
enhance the accuracy of the estimates.

As issues of professional standards and error rates continue to be addressed in the courts, forensic anthropologists should be proactive by developing and adhering to professional standards of best practice. There has been recent increased awareness and interest in critically assessing some of the techniques used by forensic anthropologists, but issues such as validation, error rates, and professional standards have seldom been addressed. Here we explore the legal impetus for this trend and identify areas where we can improve regarding these issues. We also discuss the recent formation of a Scientific Working Group for Forensic Anthropology (SWGANTH), which was created with the purposes of encouraging discourse among anthropologists and developing and disseminating consensus guidelines for the practice of forensic anthropology. We believe it is possible and advisable for anthropologists to seek and espouse research and methodological techniques that meet higher standards to ensure quality and consistency in our field.

Antropoloji, insanı geçmişi ve şimdiki haliyle araştırır ve inceler. Antropologlar, bizi primat takımı içerisindeki diğer türlerden ayıran biyolojik ve fiziksel özellikleri inceleyerek insan evrimine ışık tutmaya çalışırlar. Sosyal ve Kültürel Antropoloji, Fizik veya Biyolojik Antropoloji, Paleoantropoloji ve Linguistik Antropoloji, antropolojinin alt dallarıdır. Fizik antropolojinin özel bir alt dalı olan Adli Antropoloji, kriminal vakalarda hayatını kaybetmiş kişilerin iskeletlerinden yaş, cinsiyet, boy, medikal geçmiş, ölüm şekli tayini ve kimliklendirilmesi amacıyla fizik antropolojinin teknik ve metotlarını kullanır. Bu makale, adli antropolojinin genel ilkelerinden, bilim olarak kullanım alanı ve gerekliliğinden, ve adli bilimlere sağladığı katkılardan bahsetmektedir.
Anthropology is the study of humans, concerning its past and present. Anthropologists study human evolution in order to understand the biological and physical features that seperate us from the other species in primates group. The study of anthropology as science includes subfields such as, Social and Cultural Anthropology, Physical or Biological Anthropology, Paleoanthropology and Linguistic Anthropology. As a special sub-field of physical anthropology, forensic anthropology applies the techniques and methods of pysical anthropology to the human skeletons in order to determine the age, sex, stature, medical
history and cause of death of deceased persons in criminal events. This paper mentiones the general principles of forensic anthropolgy, the necessity as science and its contributions to the forensic sciences.

Le Service régional de l’archéologie du Centre (Ministère de la Culture ; Orléans) a diligenté en 2004 une mission d’expertise des investigations menées dans l’église Notre-Dame de Cléry-Saint-André (Loiret), en particulier sur le caveau royal de Louis XI. Si une étude documentaire préalable a permis de retrouver des documents inédits et des comptes-rendus d’anciennes fouilles archéologiques, il s’agissait surtout de mener une analyse des ossements humains. La confrontation des sources historique et des analyses paléobiologiques ont mis en évidence dans le grand sarcophage du caveau royal l’apport, à la fin du XIXe s., d’ossements étrangers aux squelettes attribués à Louis XI et à Charlotte de Savoie. Les os épars ne correspondant sans doute pas à l’image qu’on pouvait se faire d’un tombeau aussi prestigieux, les os déposés ont alors été disposés de manière à révéler des corps, tandis que les autres, initialement présents dans le sarcophage, ont été isolés.
Cette étude démontre que, malgré ce qui a été écrit encore très récemment, des os de Louis XI et/ou de Charlotte de Savoie sont encore vraisemblablement présents.
Ce travail est enfin l’occasion d’aborder la question de préparation des corps des grands du royaume à la fin du Moyen Age. Les traces sur les os permettent de déterminer la façon dont les dépouilles ont été embaumées : prélèvement de tout ou partie des viscères, exérèse particulière du cœur, application de produits etc.

Patrice GEORGES-ZIMMERMANN est archéo-anthropologue à l’Institut national de recherches archéologiques préventives (Inrap) et membre de l’UMR 5608 du CNRS TRACES « Travaux et Recherches Archéologiques sur les Cultures, les Espaces et les Sociétés » (équipes Pôle Afrique et Terrae).  A ce titre, ces recherches portent principalement sur les pratiques funéraires, en France comme à l’étranger.
Patrice GEORGES-ZIMMERMANN dirige la collection « Mourir à travers les siècles » aux Editions L’Harmattan.

"Representations", N. 129, Winter 2015.

The essay analyzes the project of maintaining the body of V. I. Lenin in the Mausoleum in Moscow for the past ninety years, focusing on the unique biological science that developed around this project, and the unexpected political role this body has performed.

En 1891 se colocó un cuerpo momificado en la Catedral de Lima creyéndose que eran los restos del conquistador Francisco Pizarro, el fundador de la ciudad de Lima. En 1977 fueron descubiertos los restos auténticos de Pizarro en la Cripta Mayor, ubicada debajo del Altar mayor de la Catedral. Las investigaciones de Arqueología Histórica realizados entre 1977 y 1984 demostraron que "la llamada momia de Pizarro" fue un fraude científico de fines del siglo XIX. Las investigaciones de los restos óseos descubiertos en 1977 presentaban los cortes producidos por la estocada en la garganta que mencionaron los cronistas y otras dieciséis heridas por cortes que le produjeron sus asesinos. En 1985 los restos auténticos de Francisco Pizarro fueron ubicados en su capilla en la Catedral de Lima. Ese fue un aporte de las investigaciones de Arqueología y Arqueología-Histórica que permitieron identificar los restos auténticos de Francisco Pizarro, el conquistador del siglo XVI, con la cooperación de los mejores Antropólogos Físicos, Antropólogos Forenses y Radiólogos mediante una investigación interdisciplinaria

Prediction of stature in forensic medicine and anthropology is one of the most important tools in forensic identification. This study is aimed at generating group–specific stature equations that produce the most accurate results. The study was conducted on 140 cadavers (78 males, 62 females) of ages ranging from 18 to 50 years. Ulna and tibia lengths of the cadavers, as well as body height, were measured using two different methods. Values of ulna and tibia were classified into three groups; long ulna/tibia, medium ulna/tibia, and short ulna/tibia, by using 15th and 85th percentile values as cut-off points, and then least square regression equa-tions were generated for each group. The results of these bone length sensitive formulae are compared with the results obtained using the classical general formula. Comparisons high-light that group-specific formulae give more accurate results than those of general the formula making them better suited to estimation of stature versus than the general formula in forensic cases.

Taphonomy is an important component of forensic anthropology, archaeology, bioarchaeology and paleoanthropology. The ability to understand the factors that result in the breakdown of organic remains in multiple contexts is a necessary component of anthropological research. Forensic taphonomic research is invaluable for understanding postmortem events that affect human remains in medicolegal contexts.

This thesis analyzes scavenging damage on forensic cases curated by the California State University, Chico Human Identification Laboratory (CSUC-HIL) and involves actualistic experiments, using five pigs (Sus scrofa) to better understand scavenger behavior and modification of human remains in northern California. The human remains cases (n = 22) were inventoried and scavenger modification and tooth impact mark diameter was documented. The pig remains were collected and examined in the same manner as the CSUC-HIL forensic sample.

Results indicate that there is significant variation in the distribution of scavenging damage in the CSUC-HIL forensic sample. Distal appendicular elements were less intensively scavenged than more proximal segments and areas with the greatest damage coincide with large fat deposits. The tooth impact mark data indicated that it is not possible to assign the damage to a specific species but rather to a size class of large or small carnivore. Actualistic experiments indicated that there is a specific order in which scavengers access carrion, with damage concentrated in areas with the largest amount of fat. Future scavenging research is necessary to gain an understanding of scavenger modification of human remains and should include natural environmental settings.

Resumen:

El presente trabajo indaga en el recorrido de los estudios arqueológicos sobre los antiguos centros clandestinos de detención, y su situación actual en el contexto de los juicios por crímenes de lesa humanidad en Argentina. Para ello, buscamos rastrear las diferentes aproximaciones a la materialidad de los ex-CCD desde el retorno de la democracia, y a su vez analizar las técnicas de representación y persuasión que rigen la producción de evidencia en el foro judicial, a fin de evaluar las razones de su tardía y vacilante incorporación como herramienta pericial a diferencia de lo ocurrido con el desarrollo de la antropología forense en Argentina.

We have investigated the susceptibility of degraded human hair shaft samples to contamination by exogenous sources of DNA, including blood, saliva, skin cells, and purified DNA. The results indicate that on the whole hair shafts are either largely resistant to penetration by contaminant DNA, or extremely easy to successfully decontaminate. This pertains to samples that are both morphologically and biochemically degraded. We suggest that this resistance to the incorporation of contaminant DNA relates to the hydrophobic and impermeable nature of the keratin structures forming the hair shaft. Therefore, hair samples represent an important and underestimated source of DNA in both forensic and ancient DNA studies.

Farm tractors are the major cause of occupational fatalities in agricultural regions. Fatalities typically result from being run over or crushed by the tractor, becoming entangled in the moving parts of the tractor, accidents on roadways, and tractor rollovers, which involve the tractor tipping sideways or backwards and crushing the operator. In this study, tractor-related fatalities in the Konya province of Turkey are retrospectively evaluated. Out of the 3940 cases on which a death examination and/or autopsy was performed between the years 2000 and 2007 at The Konya Branch of Forensic Medicine Council, 86 (2.2%) of the death cases were caused by tractor accidents and are included in this study. The ages of the victims varied between 3 and 80 years old with a mean age of 31.7 + or - 22.3. Sixty-eight (79.1%) of the cases involved males, while 18 (20.9%) of the cases involved females. In 32 (37.2%) of the cases, the deaths due to tractor accidents occurred when the tractor overturned. In 37 (43.0%) of the cases, the tractor-related fatalities involved the passengers and the drivers were involved in 34 (39.5%) of the cases. In conclusion, tractor accidents are preventable and deaths from tractor accidents can be significantly reduced if drivers are required to wear safety belts and helmets and frequent checks are implemented to enforce the ban on carrying passengers.

In Latin America, the Archaeology of the Contemporary Past focuses on investigation of the massive human rights violations perpetrated by the authoritarian regimes that ruled the countries in this region between 1960s and 1980s. These military governments instituted terror regimes in order to achieve a de-politicization of civil society through fear. To ensure their success, they displayed the most extreme forms of repression, including imprisonment, forced exile, murder and the disappearance of thousands of political opponents. This paper examines the regional particularities of the clandestine repression in Argentina, specifically in the military jurisdiction
known as Area 211, which was subordinated to the II Defense Zone Command. Taking an archaeological and territorial approach, I applied the analysis tools provided by Geographic Information Systems (GIS), combining historical and spatial information to investigate the modes by which repressive systems administered the bodies of their victims.

A question remains as to whether specific criteria can be used to differentiate perimortem and postmortem breakage patterns in deer femora. The purpose of this experiment was to discover if fracture characteristics, such as smooth or rough fracture surfaces, are statistically correlated with bone condition (old, new) or bone end (proximal, distal). Two experimental groups were used (postmortem; n = 46; perimortem; n = 41). Dependent variables (DV) were the presence or absence of (a) right angles, (b) acute angles, (c) jagged edges, (d) curved edges, (e) smooth bone surfaces, (f) rough bone surfaces, (g) transverse fractures, (h) butterfly fractures, (i) number of fracture lines, and (j) number of pieces created from the break. Independent variables (IV) were (a) the condition of the bone (old, new) and (b) end of the bone (proximal, distal). The study hypothesis was that perimortem fractures would contain more acute than right angles and more smooth than rough surfaces and that postmortem fractures would contain more right than
acute angles and more rough than smooth surfaces. A significant correlation among variables may help future researchers to categorize unknown bones.

1 A comprehensive ac- count on Yabalkovo’s human remains appeared in Prähistorische Zeitschrift 2013, 88(1) (Alpaslan Roodenberg, Todorova, Petrova 23-37). All human burials and isolated re- mains have been sampled for a DNA analysis within the ERC Project ‘From the earliest modern humans to the onset of farming (45,000-4,500 BP)’. The results of the stable isotope analysis are published in this volume (Budd and Lillie, this volume). Radiocarbon dates obtained from the first two skeletons are reported and commented by J. Roodenberg in this volume.

Numerosos agentes intrínsecos y extrínsecos afectan de diferentes formas los grados de preservación de restos óseos humanos. La observación de la forma e intensidad en las que tales factores inciden en las características del registro osteológico de una muestra contemporánea con información fehaciente de referencia (sexo, edad, fecha y causa de muerte), ofrece la posibilidad de aportar datos locales para contribuir a la comprensión de la compleja dinámica del proceso de descomposición cadavérica y preservación del esqueleto. En este trabajo se analizan y comparan estadísticamente variables contextuales (anegabilidad y saturación del terreno, alcalinidad y presencia de adipocira, de raíces de árboles y de envoltorio) y tafonómicas (porcentaje de completitud, índice de fragmentación y deterioro óseo) en 20 coxales humanos con el objetivo de analizar, desde una perspectiva osteológica, de qué forma la variación en el impacto de esos factores afecta los grados de preservación de los esqueletos.
Se identifican tendencias que sugieren la acción de algunos agentes específicos, al mismo tiempo que la ausencia de asociación de numerosas variables aporta información relevante para contrastar con modelos previamente generados. Se describen algunas asociaciones estadísticas entre variables que afectan a los individuos femeninos y otras que indican una tendencia hacia la preservación ósea por parte de la acción de las raíces, en oposición a lo habitualmente planteado en las investigaciones tafonómicas; por último, se enfatiza la necesidad de considerar variables poco exploradas desde una perspectiva bioarqueológica, como la saturación del terreno, la presencia de algún tipo de envoltorio y la acción de la adipocira, como aspectos que afectan significativamente la preservación ósea y, por lo tanto, el potencial del registro analizado para ofrecer información de interés osteológico.

Osteological reference collections play a key role in bioanthropological research; they allow the development and testing of methods for sexing and aging individuals using different bone and dental attributes. This paper presents the first stage results of the ongoing Chacarita Research Project, which aims to generate and study a reference collection of adult skeletons representative of the contemporary population of Buenos Aires city. The Chacarita Collection is being conformed of unclaimed human remains of individuals of known nationality, sex, age, cause and date of death from the Chacarita Public Cemetery. Unlike other similar endeavors, this sample has been completely exhumed using archaeological techniques. So far, a total of 146 adult skeletons have been recovered (60 females - 41.1% - and 86 males - 58.90% -), the majority of which have ages-at-death in the range of 71-90 years. They were born primarily in Argentina (n = 133; 91.1%), although other nationalities are also represented. Dates of death go between 1987 and 2000. In the short term, the osteological study of this collection will allow assessment of the performance of classical methods of sex determination and age-at-death estimation in a local setting. A special priority will be given to the study of osteological changes in individuals over 50 years. As the sample is being retrieved by exhumation, the impact of taphonomic agents on the most diagnostic bones structures is also being assessed. In the long term, this osteological collection will be available to generate new population-specific techniques, and to develop comparative biological studies.

During medicolegal investigations forensic anthropologists commonly use morphological changes in the auricular surface of the ilium and the symphyseal face of the pubis to estimate age. However, obesity may impact the reliability of age estimations based on pelvic joints. Over the past several decades the prevalence of obesity has dramatically increased in the United States (U.S.). Since the rate of progression through age-related stages of weight-bearing joints may be influenced by excessive body mass, it is important that anthropologists understand how obesity affects age-related morphological changes in the skeleton. This study investigates the effects of obesity on the validity of the estimated age-at-death based on the Buckberry-Chamberlin and Suchey-Brooks methods by comparing U.S. adults considered normal BMI (BMI 18.5 to 24.9) and obese (BMI ≥ 30). The obese group exhibits overall greater bias (overestimation of age) and inaccuracy, less precision, and lower correlations between estimated and known age than the normal BMI group using both methods, although differences in the pubic symphysis are not statistically significant. For the auricular surface the age of transition from one phase to the next is lower and the standard deviations are greater for the obese compared to normal weight individuals. This study helps to elucidate how obesity affects the rate of age-related skeletal change of the human pelvis, and shows that the pubic symphysis may be a more reliable indicator of age in obese individuals and that greater standard deviations are needed for obese individuals, especially males, when estimating age-at-death from the pelvis.