Biological and Physical Anthropology Commons^™

Estimating Postmortem Intervals Of Human Remains Recovered In Mid-Western Waterways: A Test Of Terrestrial And Aquatic Body Scoring Methods, Amanda Rose Fink

Masters Theses

In attempt to determine postmortem intervals (PMI), forensic investigators often rely on observed amounts of postmortem taphonomic alterations of the human body. Research has been conducted in an attempt to understand and predict the sequence and rate of human decomposition using total body scoring methods as well as accumulated degree days (ADD) (Megyesi et al. 2005). While most research focuses on methods of decomposition scoring in terrestrial environments, Heaton et al. (2010) devised a method to aid in the prediction of PMI and postmortem submersion intervals (PMSI) in an aqueous environment. Using 73 forensic cases collected from the Hennepin County, …

A Biologically Informed Structure To Accuracy In Osteometric Reassociation, Kyle Mccormick

Doctoral Dissertations

Commingled assemblages present a common situation in osteological analysis where discrete sets of remains are not readily apparent, thereby hindering biological profile construction and the identification process. Of the methods available for resolving commingling, osteometric reassociation is considered a reliable and relatively objective technique. Traditional osteometric sorting methodologies is a decision-making, error-mitigation approach, where possible matches are eliminated if the calculated pvalue exceeds an analyst-defined threshold. This approach implicitly assumes that all bone comparisons are equally accurate as long as the threshold is attained. This assumption, however, is not based in biological reality. This study tests a hypothetical structure of …

An Investigation Of Diabetes Mellitus In Postmortem Human Remains, Shannon Elizabeth May

Doctoral Dissertations

Diabetes mellitus is one of the most prevalent and significant metabolic diseases impacting modern human populations. The goal of this research is to explore several analytical methods to better appreciate how diabetes impacts the skeleton, and to determine if this effect can be recognized in postmortem remains. Anthropologists are tasked with elucidating the relationship between nutrition, metabolism, growth, development, and skeletal health. Diabetes represents a crucial point of interface between these factors. Furthermore, as the percentage of diabetics increases in the general population, so will their representation in forensic cases. This study will provide tools for identifying characteristics of diabetes …

Nonparametric Discriminant Analysis In Forensic Ancestry Estimation: An Assessment Of Utilized And Alternative Statistical Methods, David Anthony Mercer

Masters Theses

This thesis evaluates and compares the performances of four discriminant analysis techniques in forensic ancestry estimation using craniometric variables. Giles and Elliot (1962) were the first anthropologists to use discriminant analysis for ancestry estimation. They used Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) in an attempt to predict American White, American Black, and American Indian ancestry from craniometric variables. LDA has since been the dominant discriminant technique used for this purpose. It is the method that is exclusively used in FORDISC (Ousley and Jantz, 2005) and, until recently, was the only method applied to forensic craniometric ancestry estimation.

LDA, however, assumes the data …