Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Investigating Cranial Variation In Japanese Populations Using Geometric Morphometrics, Beatrix Dudzik

Doctoral Dissertations

The Japanese archipelago exhibits an immense amount of variation in culture and history, despite the lay population mostly considering the modern Japanese a homogeneous population. Japan has experienced an amazing amount migration activity. These migration events are well represented in the archaeological record and have provided fodder for hypotheses proposed for peopling of the new world.

Biological anthropologists have tested hypotheses surrounding the initial peopling of the islands using linear data in conjunction with non-metric traits of the skull. Recent molecular studies have provided evidence for population substructure, which suggests an original founding group of North Asian descent, and a …

Is Quantitative Ultrasound A Valid Technique For Assessing Bone Quality In Deceased Infants?, Miriam Elizabeth Soto Martinez

Doctoral Dissertations

There is no quantitative method for evaluating infant bone quality that is non-invasive, portable, brief in scan duration, and does not use ionizing radiation. This study investigates the relationship between components of infant bone quality and a measure of quantitative ultrasound (QUS), speed of sound (SOS), to provide insight into the validity of QUS as a diagnostic tool for evaluating infant bone quality. The study sample was comprised of 78 infants between the age of 30 weeks estimated gestational age and 12 postnatal months receiving an autopsy at the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences and Texas Children’s Hospital. Bone …

Age Estimation With Decision Trees: Testing The Relevance Of 94 Aging Indicators On The William M. Bass Donated Collection, Kevin Benjamin Dominic Hufnagl

Doctoral Dissertations

Anthropologists have been estimating ages-at-death of skeletons for a long time. A variety of different age indicators has been studied and age estimation methods have been developed in an attempt to standardize the process. Even with all the work that has gone into developing age estimation methods, age estimation of mature skeletons is still very imprecise. This research investigates various age indicator definitions and their performance on an elderly skeletal sample. Using 176 individuals from the William M. Bass Donated Collection curated in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, data were collected on age indicators gathered …

Raccoon Scavenging And The Taphonomic Effects On Early Human Decomposition And Pmi Estimation, Jacob K. Smith

Masters Theses

Forensic investigators must consider the effects of numerous taphonomic variables when estimating the postmortem interval (PMI) in forensic cases, such as temperature and insect activity. Efforts to quantify the decomposition process have been made. Megyesi et al. (2005) modified the categories and stages of decomposition presented by Galloway et al. (1989), and introduced a total body scoring system that uses accumulated degree-days to estimate PMI. However, none of these systems include the potential effects of animal scavenging. Galloway et al. (1989) stated that carnivorous activity occurs mainly during advanced decomposition and mummification. Haglund et al. (1989) specifically investigated canid scavenging …

Investigating Postnatal Ontogeny In The Craniofacial Complex Of Human Juveniles, Amber Davis Wheat

Doctoral Dissertations

Researchers have analyzed the developmental processes contributing to craniofacial variation from genetic, evolutionary, biomechanical and forensic perspectives, yet no study has clearly demonstrated the exact anatomical processes that occur in the craniofacial complex during postnatal growth to establish ultimate adult morphologies. Furthermore, previous research has not evaluated how endocranial bones (i.e., the ethmoid and sphenoid) play a role in postnatal craniofacial growth. Thus, while researchers have hypothesized that the long postnatal period of continued growth contributes to the high amount of variation observed in adult facial variation, this has yet to be shown empirically.

The presented research uses cranial data …

Studies In Taphonomy: Bone And Soft Tissue Modifications By Postmortem Scavengers, Jennifer Ann Synstelien

Doctoral Dissertations

This study documented animal scavengers at the University of Tennessee’s Anthropology Research Facility. Remotely-captured digital video and still photography equipment was stationed at the outdoor human decomposition facility intermittently from September 2003 through October 2009. The primary scavengers of corpses were identified as the northern raccoon (Procyon lotor), Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana), brown rat (Rattus norvegicus), and white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus); and the primary scavenger of skeletal remains was the eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis). Among these species, the raccoon was the dominant scavenger and is the focus of this report.

The captured imagery of …

The Preservation And Persistence Of Human Dna In Soil During Cadaver Decomposition, Alexandra Leah Emmons

Masters Theses

Recent decades have seen a marked increase in the amount of research concerning the impact of human cadaveric decomposition on the grave soil environment; however, despite such advances, the fate of important biological correlates in grave soil, including human DNA, have remained relatively understudied. This study redresses the current lack of knowledge regarding the preservation and persistence of human DNA in the soil during cadaveric decomposition, with the purpose of enhancing forensic identification efforts including the detection of primary burial sites. This study assessed the preservation (i.e., presence or absence) of human nuclear and mitochondrial DNA and evaluated the quantity …

A Comparative Evaluation Of Auricular Surface Aging Methods Using The William M. Bass Donated Skeletal Collection, Kelsey Jo Hailey

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Trends And Patterns In The Ossification Of Thyroid Cartilage, Nichole Theresa Schultz

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.