Osteological Analysis of Indian Black Market Human Remains

Conducting osteological analyses on human skeletal material enhances our knowledge of these remains. Photos and descriptions are insufficient when communicating the wear, pathology, variation, or nuances of native populations. There are numerous laws, regulations, and financial dilemmas hindering our ability to further research human skeletal remains. Unfortunately, smaller institutions frequently find sophisticated imaging tools to be cost-prohibitive. Photographs lack sufficient detail when attempting to capture and convey an accurate representation of the unique structure, markings, and degenerationof human skeletal remains. Integrating new technology and techniques into this field has the potential to solve these dilemmas. CT scanning and file extracting creates virtual three-dimensional models and stores the information for future study. This removes the time limit surrounding this research (due to mandatory repatriation) and allows for thorough skeletal analyses. To assess this methodology, we conducted complete osteological analyses on two CT replicated human skeletal remains of two individuals uncovered during the archaeological excavation in Cabell County, West Virginia. In previous studies we analyzed the accuracy of the digital data by comparing physical human remains to the digitized versions. We hypothesized that the digital replicas allow a complete osteological analysis of the human skeletal material. Data were collected using human remains digitized on a GE VCT Medical CT scanner. The CT data were extracted into a 3D digital file for analysis while using the Standards for Data Collection from Human Skeletal Remains. Results show we can indicate identification of fundamental skeletal anatomy with all skeletal landmarks and basic osteometric measurements.

European and Northwest African Middle Pleistocene Hominids by F. Clark Howell of human skeletal remains from the Middle Pleistocene has always been one of the greatest gaps in human-paleontological knowledge. At THE SPARSE REPRESENTATION first, Southeastern Asia was unique in having provided remains from the Trinil beds in Java, but the signifi­ cance of this poorly preserved skull-cap was confirmed and greatly amplified by subsequent discoveries (Von Koenigswald 1940) of better preserved specimens at other localities of similar age, as well as in the still older Djetis beds. Still tfuly unique in all the world is the somewhat younger occupation site of Locality 1 Choukoutien, with its extraordinarily abundant, prob­ ably cannibalized, human remains in association with hearths, stone implements (Choukoutienian chopper/ chopping-tool complex), and remains of slaughtered animals. For many years, the only such find from the West was the enigmatic human mandible from the Grafenrain gravel pit at Mauer in the Rhineland. Then, within a few years in the mid-thirties, three additional speci­ mens came to light in western Europe (Steinheim), Britain (Swanscombe), and northwest Africa (Rabat, Morocco). In the last several years, further Middle Pleistocene human remains were found in northwest Africa, both in Algeria (Ternifine) and in Morocco (Sidi Abderrahman). All these discoveries (Fig. I) have excellent paleontological associations, and, in three cases (Swanscombe, Ternifine, Sidi Abderrahman), there are associated stone implements (Acheulean of various stages). However, no occupation site is yet F. CLARK HOWELL is Associate Professor of Anthropology, De­ partment of Anthropology, University of Chicago (Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.). He was born in 1925, and educated at the University of Chicago (Ph.D., 1953). HOWELL has undertaken field and other studies on early man in Europe (1953,1956) and in Africa (1954,1957-58,1959), and made a recent brief visit to Israel (1959). He has published various papers on human paleontology, especially as regards the Neanderthal problem, and on early man and the Pleisto­ cene in general. Prior to submitting the present paper to CURRENT ANTHRO­ POLOGY, HOWELL sent it, for comment and criticism, to three colleagues, of whom W. W. Howells and Kenneth P. Oakley responded. The response was primarily commendatory, and except for HOWELL's addition of some paragraphs along lines recommended by Oakley, the paper stands as first written. Vol. I . No.3' Ma)' 1960 known from the Middle Pleistocene of Europe or Africa with in situ human skeletal remains, stone im· plements, and the bones of slaughtered animals. These human skeletal remains, taken in conjunction with those from the Middle Pleistocene of eastern and southern Asia, have an important bearing on interpre­ tations of the course of human evolution. The signifi­ cance of these discoveries has been obscured by the pre­ occupation of some human paleontologists with other human remains either suspected to be of Pleistocene antiquity or questionable due to an extraordinary com· plex of morphological features (the famous hoax of Piltdown). Largely as a consequence of this, there have grown up two main interpretations of man's phylogeny in the Pleistocene, one depending on the possible im­ portance of the suspicious fossils, and the other de­ pending only on the scanty, but well-dated, human fos­ sils enumerated above. The former interpretation recognizes an early, at least earlier, Middle Pleistocene separation of a morphologically modern (sapiens) lineage. The latter postulates progressive transforma· tion of primitive and variable Middle Pleistocene hu­ man populations into diverse Neanderthal and re­ lated, geographically distinctive, groups, as well as into incipiently sapiens peoples. The purpose of this paper is to discuss tI-1e significance of the :Middle Pleistocene human remains from Europe and North Africa for the resolution of this basic problem in the study of human phylogeny. COMPARATIVE STRATIGRAPHY AND ASSOCIATIONS THAMES RIVER: SWANSCOl\'IBE The Swanscombe human remains were recovered from gravel deposits exposed in the Barnfield pit, be­ tween Dartford and Gravesend, on the south bank of the lower Thames River valley. Marston (1937) dis­ covered a complete occipital in June, 1935, and a left parietal in March, 1936. Twenty years later Wymer re­ covered the right parietal of the same individual. The three fragments occurred in the same seam of sandy

Conducting osteological analyses on human skeletal material enhances our knowledge of these remains. Photos and descriptions are insufficient when communicating the wear, pathology, variation, or nuances of native populations. There are numerous laws, regulations, and financial dilemmas hindering our ability to further research human skeletal remains at a deeper level. Unfortunately, smaller institutions frequently find sophisticated imaging tools to be cost-prohibitive. Photographs lack sufficient detail when attempting to capture and convey an accurate representation of the unique structure, markings, and degenerationof human skeletal remains. Integrating new technology and techniques into this field has the potential to solve these dilemmas. CT scanning and file extracting creates virtual three-dimensional models and stores the information for future study. This removes the time limit surrounding this research (due to mandatory repatriation), allowing for thorough skeletal analyses, and gives us access to the remains at all times. To assess this methodology, we conducted complete osteological analyses on three CT replicated human skeletal remains of three individuals uncovered during the archaeological excavation in Cabell County, West Virginia. In previous studies we analyzed the accuracy of the digital data by comparing physical human remains to the digitized versions. We hypothesized that the digital replicas are sufficient and allow a complete osteological analysis of the human skeletal material.

This chapter focuses on the analysis and identification of human remains, in particular those that are skeletonised. Forensic identification of human remains is a legal duty based on the scientific compatibility of information on missing persons with unidentified human remains. When human skeletal remains are presented, the most important methods for establishing identity include DNA analysis, odontology, comparative X-ray analysis, and skull–photo comparison. Moreover, when human skeletal remains are found, it is mandatory to medically examine them in order to pronounce death and establish, if possible, time, manner, and cause of death where attainable. Once the skeletal remains have been identified as being human, subsequently, the identification of the victim’s characteristics, and cause and manner of death from the skeleton takes place. The identification of human remains is important for both legal and humanitarian reasons. Moreover, a multidisciplinary approach is very important in the case of the recovery of human skeletal remains.

In the early 1960s, human skeletal remains of several individuals were found in apparent association with late Pleistocene mammals during an excavation at Devil's Den sinkhole in Levy County, Florida. The rarity of these associations in Florida and across the Americas is well-known. Most sites suggesting this antiquity contain diagnostic lithic and bone artifacts, but no human remains. Very little has been published about the Devil's Den site, and the human remains were not available for study until 2003. Unfortunately, neither the human nor animal bones can be dated by the radiocarbon method due to a lack of sufficient surviving collagen. We present new data indicating that the concentrations of rare earth elements preserved in the bones of the human skeletal remains and associated latest Pleistocene faunas are indistinguishable, and significantly greater than a control group of modern mammals. We interpret these results to indicate that the humans found at Devil's Den were contemporaneous with the extinct latest Pleistocene (Rancholabrean) fauna, about 13 ka.

Human remains are present in a number of contexts. Some of these are archaeological burial sites, which can comprise individual or mass graves burials. Human remains are usually found buried (or cremated), but they can also be found in museums and in universities, as part of their anatomical collections. Human remains can be found in churches as relics, in ossuaries, and as part of objects. Hence human remains refer to not just a complete skeleton, but also apart of a bone or tooth, hair and mummified remains. In more recent forensic, police or medico-legal cases, human skeletal remains can be found in a number of contexts, such as fire scenes, natural disasters, clandestine graves, or on the surface in open areas (e.g. a woodland). One aspect ofphysical anthropology is that which studies human skeletal remains in order to reconstruct the past, understand human variation, and provide information about the deceased individuals, such as their age at death, sex, ancestry, stature, pathological conditions or traumatic injuries; the remains from medico-legal or police cases fall under the branch offorensic anthropology.

A new set of multiplexed PCR primers has been applied to the analysis of human skeletal remains to determine their efficacy in analyzing degraded DNA. These primer sets, known as Miniplexes, produce shorter amplicons (50-280 base pairs (bp)) than standard short tandem repeat (STR) kits, but still utilize the 13 CODIS STR loci, providing results that are searchable on national DNA databases. In this study, a set of 31 different human remains were exposed to a variety of environmental conditions, extracted, and amplified with commercial and Miniplex DNA typing kits. The amplification efficiency of the Miniplex sets was then compared with the Promega PowerPlex 16 system. Sixty-four percent of the samples generated full profiles when amplified with the Miniplexes, while only 16% of the samples generated full profiles with the Powerplex 16 kit. Complete profiles were obtained for 11 of the 12 Miniplex loci with amplicon sizes less than 200 bp. These data suggest smaller PCR amplicons may provide a useful alternative to mitochondrial DNA for anthropological and forensic analysis of degraded DNA from human skeletal remains.

We present a proposed standard regarding the use of contemporary human skeletal remains in education, training, and research contexts in forensic anthropology. This document was generated by the Anthropology subcommittee of the Organization of Scientific Area Committees for Forensic Science and is currently under review for publication by the American Academy of Forensic Sciences', Academy Standards Board as a joint venture. The OSAC is federally funded and charged with drafting standards documents for various aspects of forensic science in the United States, while the ASB is an accredited Standards Development Organization which reviews and publishes proposed standards documents. The use of real human skeletal remains is crucial for students to learn how to identify human remains and develop various competencies as part of their education and training on their path to becoming professionals; they are also required for research. However, many recent transgressions have highlighted the need for the standardization of practices for the ethical treatment of human remains. We argue that the foundations of the ethical treatment of human remains are: informed consent, deathcare, and service to communities. This document provides a framework for informed consent based on the remains' origin (donated, unclaimed, or unidentified) and how obtained permissions dictate the ethical use of human remains from different contexts. Guidance is also provided for the use of information associated with remains (e.g., images, measurements), data associated with the remains, and their final disposition.

Conducting human osteological analyses using authentic excavated remains is difficult due to current laws and regulations surrounding Native American human remains. Universities which once housed these remains for analysis have since repatriated the remains or they are no longer available for teaching purposes. Plastic teaching models are insufficient to communicate the wear of excavated bones as well as pathology, variation, or nuances of native populations. Recent technology has the potential to solve this dilemma. Three-dimensional (3D) scanning creates virtual models and stores the information so it will not be lost once the original material is repatriated. To assess this methodology, we conducted a complete osteological analysis on CT replicated human remains of one adult individual uncovered during the archaeological excavation of Clover, a Fort Ancient civilization in Cabell County, West Virginia. We hypothesize that the digital replicas allow a complete osteological analysis of the human skeletal material. Data were collected using Standards for Data Collection from Human Skeletal Remains. Preliminary results show we can identify basic skeletal anatomy with all skeletal landmarks along with basic osteometric measurements. Estimated age is 18-20, height is +/- 170-183cm. The remains also exhibited arthritis, extreme cavities, healed tibial fracture, and possible trepanning of the occipital bone. Basic lifestyle affects are visible allowing for information on how a population lived before death. Study of digitized skeletal remains can allow for future research to teach students about human populations based on real skeletal materials.

This chapter focuses on the use of human bones in Palo rituals through multiple forensic anthropology case studies from Orange County, Florida. The ritual use of human and nonhuman skeletal remains may be misinterpreted when skeletal remains are discovered out of context. The palero harnesses the nfumbe and places them inside of the nganga, along with objects endowed with the spiritual power of Nsambi to draw power. The nganga is of interest to the forensic anthropologist, as this is the vessel in which the palero traps and controls the nfumbe through the use of human skeletal remains. Human skeletal remains are commonly procured from a cemetery, but may also be obtained from a botanica. The secondary locations of the discarded ngangas for the cases presented are consistent with common depositional contexts of other reported cases such as near water, buried or deposited in yards, and associated with wooded areas.

Sample-specific sex estimation in archaeological contexts with commingled human remains: a case study from the Middle Neolithic cave of Bom Santo in Portugal

Assessing the relative benefits of imaging with plain radiographs and microCT scanning to diagnose cancer in past populations

The quantity and nutritional quality of food available to human populations undoubtedly played a major role in the adaptive processes associated with human evolution. This should have been particularly the case in that period of human history from Mesolithic times to the present when epochal changes took place in the subsistence base of many human societies. In the Near East the domestication of plants and animals began toward the end of the Mesolithic period but became fully developed in the Neolithic. This development included agriculture and pastoralism along with cultural changes associated with greater sedentism and urbanism.

ABSTRACTThe bones of decomposing vertebrates are colonized by a succession of diverse microbial communities. If this succession is similar across individuals, microbes may provide clues about the postmortem interval (PMI) during forensic investigations in which human skeletal remains are discovered. Here, we characterize the human bone microbial decomposer community to determine whether microbial succession is a marker for PMI. Six human donor subjects were placed outdoors to decompose on the soil surface at the Southeast Texas Applied Forensic Science facility. To also assess the effect of seasons, three decedents were placed each in the spring and summer. Once ribs were exposed through natural decomposition, a rib was collected from each body for eight time points at 3 weeks apart. We discovered a core bone decomposer microbiome dominated by taxa in the phylum Proteobacteria and evidence that these bone-invading microbes are likely sourced from the surrounding decomposition environment, including skin of the cadaver and soils. Additionally, we found significant overall differences in bone microbial community composition between seasons. Finally, we used the microbial community data to develop random forest models that predict PMI with an accuracy of approximately ±34 days over a 1- to 9-month time frame of decomposition. Typically, anthropologists provide PMI estimates based on qualitative information, giving PMI errors ranging from several months to years. Previous work has focused on only the characterization of the bone microbiome decomposer community, and this is the first known data-driven, quantitative PMI estimate of terrestrially decomposed human skeletal remains using microbial abundance information.IMPORTANCE Microbes are known to facilitate vertebrate decomposition, and they can do so in a repeatable, predictable manner. The succession of microbes in the skin and associated soil can be used to predict time since death during the first few weeks of decomposition. However, when remains are discovered after months or years, often the only evidence are skeletal remains. To determine if microbial succession in bone would be useful for estimating time since death after several months, human subjects were placed to decompose in the spring and summer seasons. Ribs were collected after 1 to 9 months of decomposition, and the bone microbial communities were characterized. Analysis revealed a core bone decomposer microbial community with some differences in microbial assembly occurring between seasons. These data provided time since death estimates of approximately ±34 days over 9 months. This may provide forensic investigators with a tool for estimating time since death of skeletal remains, for which there are few current methods.

Abstract. Generic representation of skeletal remains from burials consists of three dimensions which include physical anthropologists, replication technicians, and promotional educators. For the reason that archaeological excavation is irreversible and disruptive, detail documentation and replication technologies are surely needed for many purposes. Unearthed bones during the process of 3D digital scanning need to go through reverse procedure, 3D scanning, digital model superimposition, rapid prototyping, mould making, and the integrated errors generated from the presentation of colours and textures are important issues for the presentation of replicate skeleton remains among professional decisions conducted by physical anthropologists, subjective determination of makers, and the expectations of viewers. This study presents several cases and examines current issues on display and replication technologies for human skeletal remains of prehistoric burials. This study documented detail colour changes of human skeleton over time for the reference of reproduction. The tolerance errors of quantification and required technical qualification is acquired according to the precision of 3D scanning, the specification requirement of rapid prototyping machine, and the mould making process should following the professional requirement for physical anthropological study. Additionally, the colorimeter is adopted to record and analyse the “colour change” of the human skeletal remains from wet to dry condition. Then, the “colure change” is used to evaluate the “real” surface texture and colour presentation of human skeletal remains, and to limit the artistic presentation among the human skeletal remains reproduction. The“Lingdao man No.1”, is a well preserved burial of early Neolithic period (8300 B.P.) excavated from Liangdao-Daowei site, Matsu, Taiwan , as the replicating object for this study. In this study, we examined the reproduction procedures step by step for ensuring the surface texture and colour of the replica matches the real human skeletal remains when discovered. The “colour change” of the skeleton documented and quantified in this study could be the reference for the future study and educational exhibition of human skeletal remain reproduction.