Anthropologists are often the custodians of long-term unidentified human remains though their pos... more Anthropologists are often the custodians of long-term unidentified human remains though their positions as curators of university or museum skeletal collections. Various factors decrease the solvability of these legacy cases including the passage of time, the loss of provenience for specific cases, and lack of documentation or case records. While anthropologists can contribute important information toward identification, it is often necessary to explore novel and cross-disciplinary strategies to resolve difficult cold cases. In long cold cases, the postmortem interval, in particular, may be difficult to estimate leading to further challenges in achieving identification. Modern advances in radiocarbon bomb pulse dating, isotope analysis, and actualistic studies have contributed to positive identification of unidentified human remains in some legacy cases, but may not be available to all forensic practitioners and law enforcement from resource-poor agencies. Pooling resources, as well...
The purpose of this presentation is to report on the preliminary analyses of skeletal remains rec... more The purpose of this presentation is to report on the preliminary analyses of skeletal remains recovered from an extended-use Roman workshop complex at the site of Spolverino, located near modern-day Alberese, Italy. The site was excavated in 2010-2013 by the Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici della Toscana and the University of Sheffield’s Alberese Archaeological Field School as part of a regional investigation into Roman era economic and settlement trends. Located strategically at the mouth of the Ombrone River at the intersection of multiple trade routes, the workshops manufactured glass, metal, and bone goods over four centuries of continuous use. Following the abandonment of the complex in the late 5th century, it was repurposed as a small necropolis prior to its conversion to agricultural fields. Four single-inhumation tombs were found in three rooms and were of three different types. Osteological analyses included those for demographic information and paleopathological conditions. Analysis revealed the presence of two subadults and two adult males. All individuals expressed indicators of active stress, including moderate cribra orbitalia in the subadults and active periosteal reactions in the adults. Of note was one male who expressed evidence of rhinomaxillary syndrome in conjunction with other pathologies. The burial of these individuals at Spolverino represents a key phase of transition in the transformation of the landscape from thriving manufacturing district to agricultural fields that persist today. Spolverino’s abandonment and conversion into a necropolis provide insight into the collapse of the Late Antique settlement network along the Ombrone.
Butterfly fractures are expected to form with the transverse portion on the tension side and the ... more Butterfly fractures are expected to form with the transverse portion on the tension side and the wedge portion on the compression side of a bent bone, however wedges have also been observed in the reverse orientation and are reported to be frequent in concentrated 4-point bending. To investigate how these fractures form, concentrated 4-point bending experiments were performed on nine human femora and documented using high-speed video. Videos showed the wedge portion formed as fracture initiated in tension, branched obliquely, then curved to terminate on the tension face. The transverse portion formed as a crack traveled between the curved fracture branch and the compression face. Fractography was also applied to evaluate fracture surfaces. At least one fractography feature was present in all femora and 32/35 bone fragments examined. Fracture propagation sequences interpreted using fractography matched those observed on video, demonstrating the utility of this method for evaluating complex fracture patterns.
The relationship between the point of blunt impact and the location of cranial fracture initiatio... more The relationship between the point of blunt impact and the location of cranial fracture initiation continues to be poorly understood. The current study used high-speed video to capture cranial fracture initiation and propagation in impact experiments on twelve unembalmed, intact human cadaver heads. Video footage provided direct evidence that blunt cranial impacts can produce linear fractures initiating peripheral to the impact site. Four tests produced only remote peripheral linear fractures with no damage at the known point of impact, demonstrating that the pattern of linear fractures does not necessarily indicate impact site. The range of variation observed in these experiments suggests that cranial fracture formation is more complex than it is typically described in the current literature. Differences in biomechanical and fracture results obtained with three different shaped implements provided evidence that impact surface is one important factor influencing the outcomes of blunt cranial impacts.
Current literature associates bending failure with butterfly fracture, in which fracture initiate... more Current literature associates bending failure with butterfly fracture, in which fracture initiates transversely at the tensile surface of a bent bone and branches as it propagates toward the impact surface. The orientation of the resulting wedge fragment is often considered diagnostic of impact direction. However, experimental studies indicate bending does not always produce complete butterfly fractures or produces wedge fragments variably in tension or compression, precluding their use in interpreting directionality. This study reports results of experimental 3-point bending tests on thirteen unembalmed human femora. Complete fracture patterns varied following bending failure, but incomplete fractures and fracture surface characteristics were observed in all impacted specimens. A flat, billowy fracture surface was observed in tension, while jagged, angular peaks were observed in compression. Impact direction was accurately reconstructed using incomplete tension wedge butterfly fractures and tension and compression fracture surface criteria in all thirteen specimens.
This manuscript describes the use of comparative radiography of the chest to facilitate positive ... more This manuscript describes the use of comparative radiography of the chest to facilitate positive identification of human remains in advanced stages of decomposition. The method reported by Stephan et al. for positive identification of dry, disarticulated skeletal elements was used on semifleshed, decomposing remains. Positive identification was established through multiple points of concordance observed in radiographs of the left and right clavicles and the C5-T1 vertebrae. This case study demonstrates the applicability of the Stephan et al.'s method in cases involving decomposing remains.
Anthropologists are often the custodians of long-term unidentified human remains though their pos... more Anthropologists are often the custodians of long-term unidentified human remains though their positions as curators of university or museum skeletal collections. Various factors decrease the solvability of these legacy cases including the passage of time, the loss of provenience for specific cases, and lack of documentation or case records. While anthropologists can contribute important information toward identification, it is often necessary to explore novel and cross-disciplinary strategies to resolve difficult cold cases. In long cold cases, the postmortem interval, in particular, may be difficult to estimate leading to further challenges in achieving identification. Modern advances in radiocarbon bomb pulse dating, isotope analysis, and actualistic studies have contributed to positive identification of unidentified human remains in some legacy cases, but may not be available to all forensic practitioners and law enforcement from resource-poor agencies. Pooling resources, as well...
The purpose of this presentation is to report on the preliminary analyses of skeletal remains rec... more The purpose of this presentation is to report on the preliminary analyses of skeletal remains recovered from an extended-use Roman workshop complex at the site of Spolverino, located near modern-day Alberese, Italy. The site was excavated in 2010-2013 by the Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici della Toscana and the University of Sheffield’s Alberese Archaeological Field School as part of a regional investigation into Roman era economic and settlement trends. Located strategically at the mouth of the Ombrone River at the intersection of multiple trade routes, the workshops manufactured glass, metal, and bone goods over four centuries of continuous use. Following the abandonment of the complex in the late 5th century, it was repurposed as a small necropolis prior to its conversion to agricultural fields. Four single-inhumation tombs were found in three rooms and were of three different types. Osteological analyses included those for demographic information and paleopathological conditions. Analysis revealed the presence of two subadults and two adult males. All individuals expressed indicators of active stress, including moderate cribra orbitalia in the subadults and active periosteal reactions in the adults. Of note was one male who expressed evidence of rhinomaxillary syndrome in conjunction with other pathologies. The burial of these individuals at Spolverino represents a key phase of transition in the transformation of the landscape from thriving manufacturing district to agricultural fields that persist today. Spolverino’s abandonment and conversion into a necropolis provide insight into the collapse of the Late Antique settlement network along the Ombrone.
Butterfly fractures are expected to form with the transverse portion on the tension side and the ... more Butterfly fractures are expected to form with the transverse portion on the tension side and the wedge portion on the compression side of a bent bone, however wedges have also been observed in the reverse orientation and are reported to be frequent in concentrated 4-point bending. To investigate how these fractures form, concentrated 4-point bending experiments were performed on nine human femora and documented using high-speed video. Videos showed the wedge portion formed as fracture initiated in tension, branched obliquely, then curved to terminate on the tension face. The transverse portion formed as a crack traveled between the curved fracture branch and the compression face. Fractography was also applied to evaluate fracture surfaces. At least one fractography feature was present in all femora and 32/35 bone fragments examined. Fracture propagation sequences interpreted using fractography matched those observed on video, demonstrating the utility of this method for evaluating complex fracture patterns.
The relationship between the point of blunt impact and the location of cranial fracture initiatio... more The relationship between the point of blunt impact and the location of cranial fracture initiation continues to be poorly understood. The current study used high-speed video to capture cranial fracture initiation and propagation in impact experiments on twelve unembalmed, intact human cadaver heads. Video footage provided direct evidence that blunt cranial impacts can produce linear fractures initiating peripheral to the impact site. Four tests produced only remote peripheral linear fractures with no damage at the known point of impact, demonstrating that the pattern of linear fractures does not necessarily indicate impact site. The range of variation observed in these experiments suggests that cranial fracture formation is more complex than it is typically described in the current literature. Differences in biomechanical and fracture results obtained with three different shaped implements provided evidence that impact surface is one important factor influencing the outcomes of blunt cranial impacts.
Current literature associates bending failure with butterfly fracture, in which fracture initiate... more Current literature associates bending failure with butterfly fracture, in which fracture initiates transversely at the tensile surface of a bent bone and branches as it propagates toward the impact surface. The orientation of the resulting wedge fragment is often considered diagnostic of impact direction. However, experimental studies indicate bending does not always produce complete butterfly fractures or produces wedge fragments variably in tension or compression, precluding their use in interpreting directionality. This study reports results of experimental 3-point bending tests on thirteen unembalmed human femora. Complete fracture patterns varied following bending failure, but incomplete fractures and fracture surface characteristics were observed in all impacted specimens. A flat, billowy fracture surface was observed in tension, while jagged, angular peaks were observed in compression. Impact direction was accurately reconstructed using incomplete tension wedge butterfly fractures and tension and compression fracture surface criteria in all thirteen specimens.
This manuscript describes the use of comparative radiography of the chest to facilitate positive ... more This manuscript describes the use of comparative radiography of the chest to facilitate positive identification of human remains in advanced stages of decomposition. The method reported by Stephan et al. for positive identification of dry, disarticulated skeletal elements was used on semifleshed, decomposing remains. Positive identification was established through multiple points of concordance observed in radiographs of the left and right clavicles and the C5-T1 vertebrae. This case study demonstrates the applicability of the Stephan et al.'s method in cases involving decomposing remains.
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