Biological Affinity in Forensic Identification of Human Skeletal Remains: Beyond Black and White

332 Pages·2014·15.156 MB·English

by  Gregory E. Berg, Sabrina C Ta'ala

FORENSICS & CRIMINAL JUSTICE Biological Affinity in
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Biological Affinity in Forensic
Forensic Identif ication of
Identification of Human Skeletal Remains
Human Skeletal Remains
Beyond Black and White
Ancestry determination in the identification of unknown remains can be a challenge for forensic
scientists and anthropologists, especially when the remains available for testing are limited. There
are various techniques for the assessment of ancestry, ranging from traditional to new microbio-
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the need for increased research into methods for determining ancestry of skeletal remains. The u f
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• Ancestry estimation from the skull using morphoscopic and morphometric traits and n ty

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• The preparation of skeletal remains for DNA extraction and sampling, and mtDNA methods i
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that are available for identification of haplogroups (e.g., ancestral populations) c
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No single method or technique is adequate in the assessment of ancestry. For accurate deter- i
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minations, the use of traditional and new techniques combined yields better results. This book n
demonstrates the large repertoire of tools available to those tasked with these challenging deter-
minations.
K10808
Edited by Gregory E. Berg and Sabrina C. Ta’ala
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Biological Affinity in
Forensic Identification of
Human Skeletal Remains
Beyond Black and White

Biological Affinity in
Forensic Identification of
Human Skeletal Remains
Beyond Black and White
Edited by
Gregory E. Berg
Sabrina C. Ta’ala
Boca Raton London New York
CRC Press is an imprint of the
Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
Cover photo courtesy of Gregory Berg.
CRC Press
Taylor & Francis Group
6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300
Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742
© 2015 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business
No claim to original U.S. Government works
Version Date: 20140908
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-1-4398-1577-9 (eBook - PDF)
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Greg and Sabrina dedicate this book to the extraordinarily
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Without you, this book would not exist.

Contents
Foreword ix
Acknowledgments xi
Editors xiii
Contributors xv
1 A Brief History of the Race Concept in Physical Anthropology 1
SABRINA C. TA’ALA
2 Biological Affinity in Medicolegal, Public, and
Anthropological Contexts 17
GREGORY E. BERG AND SABRINA C. TA’ALA
3 Cranial Morphoscopic Traits and the Assessment of
American Black, American White, and Hispanic Ancestry 27
JOSEPH T. HEFNER
4 Biological Affinity and Sex from the Mandible Utilizing
Multiple World Populations 43
GREGORY E. BERG
5 Metric Ancestry Estimation from the Postcranial Skeleton 83
KATHERINE SPRADLEY
6 The Sagittal Suture as an Indicator of Race and Sex 95
ROBERT W. MANN, JIRO MANABE, JOHN E. BYRD,
STEPHANIE AH SAM, THOMAS D. HOLLAND, AND
PANYA TUAMSUK
7 Beyond the Cranium: Ancestry Estimation from
the Lower Limb 133
NATALIE R. SHIRLEY, EMAM ELHAK ABDEL FATAH, AND
MOHAMED MAHFOUZ
8 Population Affinities of Hispanic Crania: Implications for
Forensic Identification 155
ANN H. ROSS, DENNIS E. SLICE, AND DOUGLAS H. UBELAKER
vii
viii Contents
9 Dental Nonmetric Variation around the World: Using Key
Traits in Populations to Estimate Ancestry in Individuals 165
JOEL D. IRISH
10 Dental Morphological Estimation of Ancestry in Forensic
Contexts 191
HEATHER J. H. EDGAR
11 Size Matters: Discrimination between American Blacks
and Whites, Males and Females, Using Tooth Crown
Dimensions 209
EDWARD F. HARRIS AND CANDICE L. FOSTER
12 Linking Identity with Landscape: Osteological and Sr–Pb
Isotopic Methods for Biogeoreference 239
ERIN H. KIMMERLE AND GEORGE D. KAMENOV
13 The Use of DNA in the Identification of Degraded Human
Skeletal Remains: A Basic Primer 257
SUNI M. EDSON AND ALEXANDER F. CHRISTENSEN
14 Identification of Deceased Unauthorized Border Crossers
in the United States 271
LORI E. BAKER
15 Sequence, Haplotype, and Ancestry: Using the
Mitochondrial DNA Hypervariable Region to Predict
Forensic “Race” 287
ALEXANDER F. CHRISTENSEN