NCJ Number
223397
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 53 Issue: 3 Dated: May 2008 Pages: 694-698
Date Published
May 2008
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This study examined the reliability and validity of physically matching fragments of bone, shell, and tooth in showing that the fragments formerly composed one piece of the material; attention is given to the influence of the matcher's experience level.
Abstract
The findings suggest that osteologists, who can draw on their education and experience in correctly identifying, anatomically orienting, and reassembling bone fragments may be at an advantage in more complex cases that involve human bone remains; however, even individuals inexperienced in both physical matching and osteology were able to locate and identify approximately 92 percent of all correct matches, which supports the reliability and validity of performing these matches. This finding suggests that identifying physical matches of the materials used in this experiment is intuitively evident, at least for most people. Varying ability to locate matches, however, may be related to an individual's aptitude for spatial tasks or other factors rather than their education or professional experience. Although the authors were unaware of any specific challenges that bone reconstruction has faced in a forensic/legal context, physical matches could possibly be the subject of a "Daubert" inquiry regarding scientific acceptance of the validity and reliability of the procedure. By providing quantifiable reliability data and error rate in advance, such challenges can be easily addressed. The fragments used for this study included human bones, nonhuman bones, nonhuman teeth, turtle shells, and mollusk shells. Fragments were created by deliberately fracturing larger specimens. The matching exercise was performed by individuals with varying levels of education, experience, and training in osteology and physical matching. The test was scored by one of the authors by disassembling the test while recording the correctly matched pairs and errors. 2 tables, 8 figures, and 5 references