Determination of sex of the dry skull using Interstyloid distance and its Medicolegal implications in Tamil Nadu population

Determination of sex using Skeletal remains is a challenging topic with so many tools being used for the sex determination of Skull in this study. The interstyloid process distance were studied in 64 Skulls and were tabulated and analysed. There is a significant difference between the distance in Female skull and Male skull, the former being lesser compared to the later. Further study in this regard may help using Interstyloid process distance as a important tool in identification of the Sex of the Skull.

Déjà vu: a reappraisal of the taphonomy of quarry VM4 of the Early Pleistocene site of Venta Micena (Baza Basin, SE Spain)

Venta Micena, an Early Pleistocene site of the Baza Basin (SE Spain), preserves a rich and diverse assemblage of large mammals. VM3, the main excavation quarry of the site, has been interpreted as a den of the giant hyaena Pachycrocuta brevirostris in the plain that surrounded the Baza palaeolake. Taphonomic analysis of VM3 has shown that the hyaenas scavenged the prey previously hunted by the hypercarnivores, transported their remains to the communal den, and consumed the skeletal parts according to their marrow contents and mineral density. In a recent paper (Luzón et al. in Sci Rep 11:13977, 10.1038/s41598-021-93261-1, 2021), a small sample of remains unearthed from VM4, an excavation quarry ~ 350 m distant from VM3, is analysed. The authors indicate several differences in the taphonomic features of this assemblage with VM3, and even suggest that a different carnivore could have been the agent involved in the bone accumulation process. Here, we make a comparative analysis of both quarries and analyse more skeletal remains from VM4. Our results indicate that the assemblages are broadly similar in composition, except for slight differences in the frequency of megaherbivores, carnivores and equids according to NISP values (but not to MNI counts), the degree of bone weathering, and the intensity of bone processing by the hyaenas. Given that VM4 and VM3 were not coeval denning areas of P. brevirostris, these differences suggest that during the years when the skeletal remains were accumulated by the hyaenas at VM3, the rise of the water table of the Baza palaeolake that capped with limestone the bones was delayed compared to VM4, which resulted in their more in-depth consumption by the hyaenas.

Ancient DNA Methods Improve Forensic DNA Profiling of Korean War and World War II Unknowns

The integration of massively parallel sequencing (MPS) technology into forensic casework has been of particular benefit to the identification of unknown military service members. However, highly degraded or chemically treated skeletal remains often fail to provide usable DNA profiles, even with sensitive mitochondrial (mt) DNA capture and MPS methods. In parallel, the ancient DNA field has developed workflows specifically for degraded DNA, resulting in the successful recovery of nuclear DNA and mtDNA from skeletal remains as well as sediment over 100,000 years old. In this study we use a set of disinterred skeletal remains from the Korean War and World War II to test if ancient DNA extraction and library preparation methods improve forensic DNA profiling. We identified an ancient DNA extraction protocol that resulted in the recovery of significantly more human mtDNA fragments than protocols previously used in casework. In addition, utilizing single-stranded rather than double-stranded library preparation resulted in increased attainment of reportable mtDNA profiles. This study emphasizes that the combination of ancient DNA extraction and library preparation methods evaluated here increases the success rate of DNA profiling, and likelihood of identifying historical remains.

Forensic Tools for Species Identification of Skeletal Remains: Metrics, Statistics, and OsteoID

Although nonhuman remains constitute a significant portion of forensic anthropological casework, the potential use of bone metrics to assess the human origin and to classify species of skeletal remains has not been thoroughly investigated. This study aimed to assess the utility of quantitative methods in distinguishing human from nonhuman remains and present additional resources for species identification. Over 50,000 measurements were compiled from humans and 27 nonhuman (mostly North American) species. Decision trees developed from the long bone data can differentiate human from nonhuman remains with over 90% accuracy (>98% accuracy for the human sample), even if all long bones are pooled. Stepwise discriminant function results were slightly lower (>87.4% overall accuracy). The quantitative models can be used to support visual identifications or preliminarily assess forensic significance at scenes. For species classification, bone-specific discriminant functions returned accuracies between 77.7% and 89.1%, but classification results varied highly across species. From the study data, we developed a web tool, OsteoID, for users who can input measurements and be shown photographs of potential bones/species to aid in visual identification. OsteoID also includes supplementary images (e.g., 3D scans), creating an additional resource for forensic anthropologists and others involved in skeletal species identification and comparative osteology.

Belly fat or bloating? New insights into the physical appearance of St Anthony of Padua

Over the centuries, iconographic representations of St Anthony of Padua, one of the most revered saints in the Catholic world, have been inspired by literary sources, which described the Saint as either naturally corpulent or with a swollen abdomen due to dropsy (i.e. fluid accumulation in the body cavities). Even recent attempts to reconstruct the face of the Saint have yielded discordant results regarding his outward appearance. To address questions about the real appearance of St Anthony, we applied body mass estimation equations to the osteometric measurements taken in 1981, during the public recognition of the Saint’s skeletal remains. Both the biomechanical and the morphometric approach were employed to solve some intrinsic limitations in the equations for body mass estimation from skeletal remains. The estimated body mass was used to assess the physique of the Saint with the body mass index. The outcomes of this investigation reveal interesting information about the body type of the Saint throughout his lifetime.

Postmortem Animal Interference in an Indigenous Burial (Lanzarote, Canary Islands)

This article addresses the study of an indigenous burial at Mina Mountain (Lanzarote), dating from cal A.D. 1300 to 1402. Pre-European funerary contexts in Lanzarote are scarce, resulting in a particular historical situation for a population that lived on the island for at least 1,400 years, whose dead people and burial sites are virtually unknown. We analyze the available data on mortuary practices of the native population, adding a new example to the limited existing evidence. This is the first archaeological study carried out on the island that focuses on a funerary context, providing clear evidence for canine scavenging on a corpse placed in a pit and the subsequent rearrangement of the disarticulated skeletal remains in a secondary hollow. The study advances bioanthropological description and specific taphonomic data of bone modifications as evidence of the events that took place at the site, providing data to interpret this singular burial. In addition, the chronological framework, together with the references of the narrative sources describing the Franco-Norman conquest of the island in 1402, allows us to propose a potential scenario explaining this unique site. Se aborda el estudio de un enterramiento indígena en Montaña Mina (Lanzarote), datado entre el 1300-1402 d. C. Los contextos funerarios en Lanzarote son escasos, reflejando una situación histórica peculiar en la que no se conocen donde están los muertos de una población que arraigó en la isla durante 1400 años. En este trabajo se analiza la información disponible sobre las prácticas funerarias indígenas, aportando un nuevo caso al limitado repertorio de sitios mortuorios. Se trata del primer estudio arqueológico sobre un contexto funerario con claras evidencias de carroñeo. El enterramiento corresponde a una fosa en la que el cadáver fue alterado por la intervención de perros, lo que provocó una reubicación posterior de los restos humanos dentro de la misma fosa. A partir del análisis bioantropológico y tafónomico de las evidencias óseas se establece la secuencia de los hechos que allí tuvieron lugar. Asimismo, atendiendo al marco cronológico del entierro y la información recogida en las crónicas de la conquista normanda de la isla en 1402, se propone un posible escenario para le explicación de este caso único.

A stable, inexpensive and widely available burial environment or keeping place for archaeological or historical human skeletal remains

In 2003 historical (non-Aboriginal) human skeletal remains archaeologically excavated from St Mary’s Anglican Church cemetery in Adelaide, South Australia were reinterred in a concrete subterranean crypt. This paper examines preservation status following 15 years of interment. Skeletal remains placed in sealed plastic bags inside plastic curation boxes provided the best method to ensure physical and chemical preservation. Prefabricated concrete containers offer a cost-effective solution for the reburial of human skeletal remains associated with a range of archaeological contexts, including eroding burial sites, urban development sites, or those derived from earlier archaeological excavations. In relation to Indigenous burial sites, in cases where considered culturally appropriate, onsite crypts allow storage or repatriation of ancestral remains ‘on country’. Concrete crypts provide cultural heritage management professionals and Indigenous communities with stable, dry, long-term burial sites that allow quick and easy access should ongoing management options, Indigenous cultural practices, or future research require re entry into the crypt.