Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Out Cold: A Case Study Of Human Skeletal Remains Demonstrating The Importance Of Site Context, Melissa Kidd, Audrey Rogers, Nicole Inghilterra, Beki Jumonville, Samantha H. Blatt

College of Social Sciences and Public Affairs Presentations

When excavating human remains, the context of the site can be just as important in understanding the cause of death as the skeletal materials themselves. This research examines the implications of bioarchaeology and forensic contexts in the following case study. A site excavated in the 1980s presented a skeletonized individual with a rifle leaning against a tree. Later identified, this individual was a missing person who disappeared in the winter in the 1920’s. Due to the presence of the rifle, the location of the individual under the tree, and the missing cranium, the manner of death was initially assumed a …