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Case Investigation
Published in Kevin L. Erskine, Erica J. Armstrong, Water-Related Death Investigation, 2021
Carbon-14 or radiocarbon dating is a naturally occurring isotope of the element carbon, continually being formed in the atmosphere. Trace amounts of radioactive carbon are found in the natural environment. It is unstable and minutely radioactive. Carbon-14 dating was first used by archaeologists to estimate the age of certain objects between 500 and 50,000 years old. Radiocarbon content of terrestrial organisms is not the same as those of marine organisms because of the marine reservoir effect. Correction factors of the marine reservoir effect for different oceans in the world are established and recorded in a database. This procedure has recently found its way into technology to identify skeletal remains or other unidentified human remains. Nuclear weapons testing over the past 60 years has stirred up environmental levels of Carbon-14. From 1955 to 1963, levels almost doubled, and since that period of time, the levels have been tapering off to more normal.
Human Skeletal Remains
Published in Cristoforo Pomara, Vittorio Fineschi, Forensic and Clinical Forensic Autopsy, 2020
Francesco Sessa, Dario Piombino-Mascali, Nicholas Márquez-Grant, Luigi Cipolloni, Cristoforo Pomara
The identification of human remains is important for both legal and humanitarian reasons. Forensic anthropology (sometimes with forensic archaeology) offers a unique set of skills to examine human skeletal remains from a variety of contexts, from natural deaths, to surface depositions, clandestine burials, and mass fatality incidents (Tersigni-Tarrant and Shirley, 2012; de Boer et al., 2018); whether accidental, natural, suicide or homicide deaths. It also may deal with a complete skeleton, a partial skeleton, a body part, or a single bone or bone fragment (Bethard et al., 2018; Navega et al., 2018). Dental structures are usually examined by a forensic odontologist (Krishan et al., 2015). For the different roles of a forensic anthropologist, see Márquez-Grant (2018).
The History of Tuberculosis from Earliest Times to the Development of Drugs
Published in Lloyd N. Friedman, Martin Dedicoat, Peter D. O. Davies, Clinical Tuberculosis, 2020
Charlotte A. Roberts, Jane E. Buikstra
Scholars studying TB in our ancestors draw on a number of sources. The primary evidence derives from people themselves (Figure 1.1) who were buried in cemeteries throughout the world that have been excavated over the years and that contribute to the understanding of humankind's long history. Bioarcheologists study human remains, with paleopathology specifically focused on the study of ancient disease. Secondary sources of evidence “flesh out” the skeletal remains that we study. For example, we might consider historical sources that document TB frequency at particular points in time in specific parts of the world—something we cannot glean from the skeletal remains. Written accounts will also tell us something about whether attempts were made to treat TB and how. Illustrations in texts may indicate that the infection was present in the population and also show the deformity and/or disability that accompanied it. The following sections consider this evidence in more detail, highlighting the strengths and limitations of our data.
The usability of the ratio of bi-humerus breadth to maximum pelvic breadth in sex estimation
Published in Annals of Human Biology, 2022
E. Senol, C. Celik, I. Tamsel, A. Kaya, H. Guler, B. Karadayi
Habitat, genetic factors, nutrition, physical activity and occupation can affect sex estimation by causing variation by population (Sadeghi et al. 2015; Shah et al. 2015; İşeri and Arslan 2019). Therefore, this study needs additional validation in skeletal remains of other populations to substantiate its reliability in forensic and/or bioarcheological contexts. Additionally, since measurements were performed on radiographic images, actual measurement of the bony structures might not necessarily yield to correlate numbers. It has also been stated that the body structure in Turkey has changed geographically (İşeri and Arslan 2019). This study is procured from a small Turkish sub-population (the Izmir population), and further applicability to the greater Turkish population requires investigation.
Comparison of 14 body size variables on adult skeletal age methods: how body mass, BMI, fat and muscle influence age estimations
Published in Annals of Human Biology, 2020
These findings indicate the importance of taking body mass into consideration when developing biological profiles from skeletal remains, especially for modern populations. Biological and forensic anthropologists rarely attempt to estimate body mass prior to assessing age at death because research has shown a poor relationship between skeletal measurements and body mass estimates (Elliott et al. 2014; Lacoste Jeanson et al. 2017), especially for individuals at the extreme ends of body mass measurements (Adams and Herrmann 2009; Lorkiewicz-Muszyńska et al. 2013; Elliott et al. 2016; Chevalier et al. 2018; Pomeroy et al. 2018; Young et al. 2018). Though not the focus of this article, the results from the current study further support these findings. While body mass and adipose tissue significantly affected age estimation biases, the skeletal proxies for body mass, BIB and femoral head diameter, did not. Osteological markers correlated with obese and underweight extremes may prove to be a more promising avenue for improving the accuracy of skeletal age estimations (Merritt 2017b). Context can also help to set parameters; for example, forensic anthropologists may use clothing and other evidence recovered at crime scenes, while archaeologists may use population-specific demographic information to adjust age estimates.
Secular trends in cranial chord variables: a study of changes in sexual dimorphism of the North Indian population during 1954–2011
Published in Annals of Human Biology, 2019
In forensic and archaeological scenarios fragmented skeletal remains are frequently encountered. Creating biological profiles from those fragmentary bones often presents challenges to forensic anthropologists and archaeologists (Lidstone 2011). Due to this disintegration, most of the traditional measurements cannot be taken, so anthropologists always recommend introducing new variables that can add-on to or replace the traditional ones in cases of fragmentation. Sex determination is one of the most important components of biological profiling which immediately eliminates half of the population from consideration and many other factors are also sex-dependent. Any secluded skeletal variable of particular bone cannot perfectly determine the sex of a skeleton. So, it becomes essential to examine the sex-specific characteristics from as many bones as possible. The sexing accuracy depends not only on the choice of a statistical method but also on the anatomic regions of the skeleton and the degree of sexual dimorphism of the given population (Lidstone 2011). It has been shown in some previous studies that the degree of sexual dimorphism also fluctuates with time as a result of temporal and secular changes which might arise in a population even within a short period of 20–40 years (Saini 2014; Saini et al. 2014).