Todd W. Fenton

The Buhl burial: A Paleoindian woman from Southern Idaho

In January 1989 highway workers encountered human skeletal remains in a gravel quarry in south-central Idaho near the town of Buhl. Excavation revealed the remains of a young Paleoindian woman, 17-21 years of age at the time of death, with craniofacial attributes similar to other North American Indian and East Asian populations. She was buried in windblown and colluvial sediments immediately overlying Bonneville flood gravel. Grave goods include a large stemmed biface, an eyed needle, and a bone implement of unknown function. Isotopic analysis suggests a diet of meat and fish, including anadromous fish. Radiographs show numerous periods of dietary stress throughout the womans childhood. AMS (accelerator mass spectrometry) dating indicates an age qf 10,675±95 B.P., and geomorphological studies verify this single radiocarbon date suggesting it is the burials minimum age. Following Idaho State law, the skeleton was claimed by the Shoshone-Bannock tribes of Idaho and reburied.

Identifying Southwest Hispanics Using Nonmetric Traits and the Cultural Profile

Abstract:  Due to the increasing number of Southwest Hispanics in the United States, as well as the overwhelming number of foreign nationals that die every year trying to enter the United States along the southern United States border with Mexico, new methods for classifying individuals have been established at the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner in Tucson, Arizona (PCOME). For each of the past 5 years, the PCOME has investigated a record number of deaths associated with these border crossings. The overwhelming majority of the identified decedents are Mexican Nationals. However, approximately 25% of these undocumented border crossers have yet to be identified, making it clear that improved methods for human identification are greatly needed. The first goal of this paper is to delineate the suite of skeletal nonmetric traits utilized in assessing Southwest Hispanic ancestry at the PCOME. This suite of nonmetric traits has proven to be an effective component in establishing the “biological profile” of unknown individuals in these cases. The second goal of this paper is to introduce methods used at the PCOME to establish the “cultural profile” of individuals in these cases. The “cultural profile” is a set of identification criteria that include: the geographic context of recovery, personal effects, dental health, and cultural accoutrements. Establishing the “cultural profile” in these cases is essential in identifying individuals as foreign nationals who have died trying to cross the border.

The Effects of Skeletal Preparation Techniques on DNA from Human and Non-Human Bone

The forensic pathologist increasingly relies on the forensic anthropologist to be the consulting expert in human identification. Likewise, if identification is not possible from visual inspection of skeletal remains, the forensic biologist may be called upon to conduct DNA analysis. The possibility of downstream DNA testing needs to be considered when skeletal preparation techniques are employed to deflesh human remains, as they have the potential to strongly impact genetic analyses and subsequent identification. In this study, three cleaning techniques, boiling bone in water, in bleach, and in powdered detergent/sodium carbonate, were tested for their effect on nuclear and mtDNA recovery from a variety of human and non-human bones. A statistically significant reduction in DNA yields occurred in non-human bones cleaned with bleach, and DNA degradation was apparent electrophoretically. The human bones also showed much lower yields from bleach cleaning, while the detergent/carbonate method allowed the largest segments of DNA to be amplified, indicating it may have a less degradative effect on bone DNA than either of the other cleaning processes.

Radiographic human identification using bones of the hand: a validation study.

The 1993 Supreme Court case Daubert v. Merrell-Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. underscores the importance of validating forensic science techniques. This research examines the validity of using posterior-anterior radiographs of the hand to make positive identifications of unknown human remains. Furthermore, this study was constructed to satisfy the requirements of Dauberts guidelines of scientific validity by establishing a standard methodology for hand radiograph analysis, testing the technique, and noting rates of error. This validation study required twelve participant examiners from the forensic science community, working independently, to attempt to match 10 simulated postmortem radiographs of skeletonized hands to 40 simulated antemortem radiographs of fleshed cadaver hands. The overall accuracy rate of the twelve examiners was 95%, while their collective sensitivity and specificity were 95% and 92%, respectively. However, the accuracy of each examiner was related to the amount of radiological training and experience of the observer. Six Ph.D. forensic anthropologists and four experienced forensic anthropology graduate students correctly identified all the matches. Participant examiners noted bone morphology, trabecular patterns of the proximal and middle phalanges, and distinctive radiopaque and radiolucent features as the anatomical features that aided the identification process. The hand can be an important skeletal element for radiographic positive identification because it contains 27 individual bones for comparative analysis.

Age dependent mechanical properties of the infant porcine parietal bone and a correlation to the human.

An infant less than 18 months of age with a skull fracture has a one in three chance of abuse. Injury biomechanics are often used in the investigation of these cases. In addition to case-based investigations, computer modeling, and test dummies, animal model studies can aid in these investigations. This study documents age effects on the mechanical properties of parietal bone and coronal suture in porcine infants and correlates the bending properties of the bone to existing human infant data. Three beam specimens were cut from porcine specimens aged 3 days, 7 days, 10 days, 14 days, 18 days, and 21 days: one across the coronal suture and two from the parietal bone, one parallel to and one perpendicular to the coronal suture. An actuator-mounted probe applied four-point bending in displacement control at 25 mm/s until failure. Bending stiffness of bone specimens increased with age; bone-suture-bone specimens showed no change up to 14 days but increased from 14 days to 18 days. All three specimen types showed decreases in ultimate stress with age. Ultimate strain for the bone-suture-bone specimens was significantly higher than that for the bone specimens up to 14 days with no differences thereafter. There was no change in the bending modulus with age for any specimen type. Bone-suture-bone bending modulus was lower than that of the bone specimens up to 14 days with no differences thereafter. There was no change in strain energy to failure with age for the bone specimens; bone-suture-bone specimens showed no change up to 14 days but decreased from 14 days to 18 days. There was an increase in specimen porosity with age. Correlation analysis revealed a weak (-0.39) but significant and negative correlation between ultimate stress and porosity. While the mechanical properties of parietal bone and coronal suture did not change significantly with age, bone specimens showed an increase in bending stiffness with age. Bone-suture-bone specimens showed an increase in bending stiffness only between 14 days and 18 days of age. Correlation analyses using existing and new data to compute the bending rigidity of infant parietal bone specimens suggested that days of pig age may correlate with months of human age during the most common time frame of childhood abuse cases.

A case of historic cannibalism in the American west: Implications for southwestern archaeology

Discoveries of concentrated deposits of fragmentary human bone and their interpretation as evidence of cannibalism in the pre-Hispanic American Southwest have engaged archaeologists in a continuing debate. Forensic study of the victims in the historic Alferd [sic] Packer case from southern Colorado in the 1870s contributes to this discussion by providing detailed data regarding perimortem trauma, cut marks, and butchering patterns in a well-accepted case of mass murder and survival cannibalism. In particular, postmortem cut marks record a butchering strategy focused on filleting muscle tissue for immediate consumption; patterning of cut marks was structured by anatomy and also by cultural values. Contrasts between this historic case and the archaeological assemblages highlights the need for a more nuanced discussion of the cultural context and meaning of the archaeological cases. Interpretations of human skeletal remains arguably must begin with the view of “the body as artifact” and from a theoretical perspective defined largely by osteology and in comparison with zooarchaeological assemblages under various ecological conditions. At this point, however, the debate regarding Anasazi cannibalism would benefit from the addition of other anthropological perspectives, particularly those concerning the human body as a vehicle for the expression of cultural ideas and values.

Osteological and Molecular Identification of Brucellosis in Ancient Butrint, Albania

Ancient skeletal remains can harbor unique information about past civilizations at both the morphological and molecular levels. For instance, a number of diseases manifest in bone, some of which have been confirmed through DNA analysis, verifying their presence in ancient populations. In this study, anthropological analysis of skeletal remains from the ancient Albanian city of Butrint identified individuals with severe circular lytic lesions on their thoracic and lumbar vertebrae. Differential diagnosis suggested that the lesions resulted from pathologies known to affect these skeletal regions, such as tuberculosis (TB) or brucellosis. Relevant bones of two adolescent males from the 10th to 13th century AD that displayed the lesions, along with unaffected individuals, were collected in the field. Genetic screening of the skeletal samples for TB was repeatedly negative, thus additional testing for Brucella spp.-bacteria of livestock and the causative agent of brucellosis in humans-was conducted. Two Brucella DNA markers, the IS6501 insertion element and Bcsp31 gene, amplified from the affected vertebrae and/or ribs, whereas all unaffected individuals and control samples were negative. Subsequent DNA sequencing confirmed the presence of the brucellar IS6501 insertion element. On the basis of the skeletal lesions, negative tests for TB, and positive Brucella findings, we report a confirmed occurrence of brucellosis in archaeologically recovered human bone. These findings suggest that brucellosis has been endemic to the area since at least the Middle Ages.

A Radiographic Assessment of Pediatric Fracture Healing and Time Since Injury

Abstract:  Past studies and pediatric bone physiology indicate that younger individuals may heal at a faster rate. Additionally, in adults upper limb fractures heal faster than lower limb fractures; this trend is expected for pediatric fractures. This study aims to evaluate and compare rates of fracture repair in children based on age and skeletal element. Six stages are used to describe the bone repair process in 294 radiographs of tibial and radial fractures from 107 infants and young children. Healing rates are examined using ANOVA and Welch’s t‐test with a 95% confidence interval. Results indicate that younger individuals spend less time at stage 1, suggesting a delay in the start of healing. Furthermore, forearm fractures heal faster than leg fractures at stages 2 and 3, suggesting a role in the osseous reaction of bone healing. The healing schedule presented may allow the timing of injuries to be estimated from radiographs.

Symmetrical fracturing of the skull from midline contact gunshot wounds: reconstruction of individual death histories from skeletonized human remains.

This paper reports a bilaterally symmetrical cranio-facial fracture pattern that is observed in self-inflicted, midline gunshot wounds. Five cases of self-inflicted gunshots wounds are presented as follows: two high-powered rifle cases, two shotgun cases, and one handgun case. In all five cases the remains were either decomposing or skeletonized and submitted to forensic anthropologists. Following identification, the main focus of the anthropological examination was the analysis of perimortem trauma to the skeleton. In each case, the skull was submitted in a highly fragmented state. Nevertheless, by focusing on the pattern of perimortem cranio-facial fractures, the anthropologists contributed key information regarding the circumstances of death. The observed symmetrical cranio-facial fracture patterns in the above cases are described in detail and interpreted. The specific location of the linear fractures is discussed, as well as the theoretical rationale behind the location in terms of skeletal architecture, such as buttresses, struts, and sutures. The interpretive framework provided by this paper may prove helpful to others who are faced with similar cases of cranio-facial fracturing.

Testing the Demirjian and the international Demirjian dental aging methods on a mixed ancestry urban American subadult sample from Detroit, MI.

Abstract:  This paper tests the Demirjian and international Demirjian dental aging methods for forensic use when ancestry and ethnicity are unknown. A radiographic sample of 187 boys and girls was collected from the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at the University of Detroit Mercy and aged using both methods. The total sample and the sample by age categories (young, middle, and old) were analyzed using t‐tests. The Demirjian method was found to better estimate age to a statistically significant degree for the total sample, as well as the middle and old age categories. The young category was aged better using the international Demirjian method. The results indicate that while the Demirjian method accurately estimates age, caution must be used with the method. Further research is needed to determine whether the international Demirjian method can be used for forensics in the U.S.