Analysis of Human Remains.ppt

Analysis of Human Remains Legal and Ethical Issues Types of Burials Identification Analysis Interpretation Legal and Ethical Issues Legal State laws CA-stop on private of state land if burial discovered, county coroner notified Health and Safety code . Coroner notifies Native American Heritage association, who notifies “most likely descendant” Federal laws NAGPRA Ethical Remains of a person’s ancestor. Burial artifacts Isolated human teeth and bones. Types of Burials Inhumations bodies that are interred unburned Primary-located in place where originally interred. Secondary-interred, decomposed then re-interred. sometimes in groups Sometimes not articulated Primary Inhumation Secondary Types of Burials Cremations bodies that have been burned. Primary buried in pit in which it was burned. Secondary buried in a place other that where it was burned. Roman Cremation Isolated and Multiple interments Isolated-single burials or cremations Multiple-many individuals accidental-burial intersecting another purposeful-charnal houses, ossuaries. Interments: Multiple Body Position Orientations Tightly flexed-knees touching chest and arms around legs. Flexed-knees drawn loosely to body. Extended-stretched out. Prone-lying flat on stomach Supine-lying flat on back Body Positions Identification Terminology Element-bone Side of the body Left Right Non-sided element Part of bone Proximal top distal bottom Medial middle Initial Analysis Bone Classification Skull cranium-skull minus mandible calvarium-skull minus facial bones dentition-permanent and deciduous 32 perm Postcranial long bones-limb bones short bones-hands and feet, clavicle Flat bones-pelvis, scapula Irregular-vertebra, wrist and ankle. /kw/osteo/osteology/ Analysis Initial sorting general categories bone element fragments Metric analysis measurement of various bones stature, cranial index measure of shape of skull e.g. Cranial index maximum cranial breadth X 100/maximum cranial length, average sk