A Multi-Method Approach to Re-Associating Fragmented and Commingled Human Remains

Abstract

This article is a plain language summary of a Master’s thesis, completed in the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of Saskatchewan in 2020, that aimed to re-asso­ciate fragmented and commingled human remains from an Early Neolithic, about 7560–6660 years before present (HPD cal. BP; Weber et al., 2021; Bronk Ramsey et al. 2021), cemetery in Siberia, Russia. This thesis addressed the inability of existing osteological sorting methods to identify the remains of individuals from a collection that was largely broken and completely mixed. By devel­oping a new multi-method approach, this project was able to identify the remains of seven people through the re-association process, and re-associate five of them. This was fairly close to the minimum number of nine individuals that were confirmed in this collection by counting non-repeating bones. This research has implications for the understanding of the culture-history in this area, the applicability of re-association methods to fragmented and commingled human remains, and efforts of reconciliation and repatriation.