NCJ Number
229262
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 54 Issue: 6 Dated: November 2009 Pages: 1247-1253
Date Published
November 2009
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This paper presents the results of bioarchaeological and sedimentological analysis of the features of a human skull seized from an eBay auction sale.
Abstract
The study was able to determine that the skull was likely a middle-age Native-American female. The presence of intentional cranial modification independently supported the population affinity assessment while impeding metric analyses. No further specificity as to population affinity could be determined using existing methods and comparative databases. Sedimentological and polynological analyses were attempted to remedy these limitations. The presence of fine-grained charcoal, abundant fungal remains, and small angular quartz grains suggestive of burial in loess, as well as the lack of pollen pteridophyte spores, and microscopic algae suggests a likely upland burial location somewhere in the lower Mississippi Valley. Further information and several Native-American artifacts were obtained from the seller by an investigator. The seller was cooperative, offering a search of his home and other properties for other materials of interest in the investigation. The seller obtained the skull from the estate of a well-known antiquities collector during the early and middle 20th century. A substantial portion of the estate was donated to the State of Louisiana. The sex of the individual was determined by using the Buikstra and Ubelaker scoring system. Of the five traits in this scoring system, the only feature that marginally suggests a male is the thickness of the supraborbital margin. A sex estimate was also derived from metric comparison of the size and shape of the skull compared with samples of known sex. The inability to identify with more certainty whether a current cultural group is affiliated with the skull emphasizes the need for further data collection from Native-American remains in the United States. 3 tables and 55 references