Metric pair-matching of calcanei in commingled human remains cases : a case study from South Africa

i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . ii LIST OF TABLES . ix LIST OF FIGURES . xiii CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION.1 1.1 Commingled Human Remains.1 1.2 The Development of the Biological Profile.1 1.2.1 Ancestry.2 1.2.2 Sex.4 1.2.3 Age.6 1.2. 4 Stature.8 1.3 The calcaneus in biological anthropology.9 1.3.1 Ancestry.9 1.3.2 Sex.11 1.3.3 Age.13 1.3.4 Stature.15 1.4 Terminology.17 1.4.1 Sex and gender.17 1.4.2 ‘Race’ and ancestry.18 1.5 Ancestral Groups in South Africa.21 1.5.1 Osteological collections examined in this study.27 1.6 Admissibility of forensic anthropology evidence in court.28 1.7 Objectives.31 CHAPTER II: BACKGROUND.34 2.1 Commingled Skeletal Remains.34 2.1.1 Causes of Commingling.35 2.1.2 Recovery of human remains in mass graves.36 2.1.2.1 Locating mass graves.36 2.1.2.2 Recovery process.37 2.1.2.3 Establishing the number of individuals.40 2.1.2.3.1 Asymmetry.42 2.2 Sorting techniques for commingled human remains.44 2.2.1 Non-metric techniques.45 2.2.2 Metric techniques.47 2.2.2.1 Applications of osteometric sorting.52 2.2.3 Geometric morphometrics.53 2.2. 4 DNA in commingled human remains cases.55 2.3 Context of the current study.57 CHAPTER III: MATERIALS AND METHODS.59 3.1 Research Objectives.59 3.2 Skeletal Materials Utilized.59 3.3 Methods.60 3.3.1 Skeletal measurements.61 3.4 Statistical Analyses.64 3.4.1 Calcaneal Asymmetry.67 3.4.1.1 Individual Differences in Calcaneal Asymmetry.67 3.4.1.2 Sex Differences in Asymmetry of the Calcaneus.69 3.4.1.3 Population Differences in Asymmetry of the Calcaneus.69 3.4.2 Calculating the M statistic.70 3.4.2.1 Automating comparisons between left and right calcanei.72 CHAPTER IV: RESULTS.74 4.1 Research Objectives.74 4.2 Statistical Analyses.74 4.2.1 Descriptive statistics.74 4.2.2 Normality.78 4.2.3 Intraand Inter-observer Error.81 4.2.3.1 Paired t-tests.81 4.2.3.2 Technical Error of Measurements.83 4.3.1 Calcaneal Asymmetry.85 4.3.1.1 Individual Differences in Calcaneal Asymmetry.88 4.3.1.2 Sex Differences in Calcaneal Asymmetry.106 4.3.1.3 Population Differences in Calcaneal Asymmetry.107 4.3.2 Calculating the M statistic.108 4.3.2.1 Automating comparisons between left and right calcanei.114 CHAPTER V: DISCUSSION.121 5.1 Context of the Current Study.121 5.1.1 Analysis of Normality.126 5.1.2 Analysis of Observer Error.127 5.2 Test of Statistically Significant Asymmetry in Calcaneal Dimensions.128 5.3 Individual Differences in Calcaneal Asymmetry.130 5.3.1 Causes of Asymmetry within Individuals.133 5.3.1.1 Genetics and Asymmetry.134 5.3.1.2 Biomechanics and Asymmetry.136 5.3.1.3 Environment and Asymmetry.137 5.4 Sex Differences in Asymmetry of the Calcaneus.139 5.4.1 Causes of Sex Differences in Asymmetry.140 5.4.1.1 Biomechanics and Asymmetry.141 5.4.1.2 Environment and Asymmetry.143 5.5 Population Differences in Asymmetry of the Calcaneus.145 5.5.1 Causes of Population Differences in Asymmetry.146 5.5.1.1 Genetics and Asymmetry.147 5.5.1.2 Biomechanics and Asymmetry.149 5.5.1.3 Environment and Asymmetry.151 5.6 Osteometric Sorting Using the M-statistic.153 CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION . 162 REFERENCES CITED . 169 APPENDICES . 189 APPENDIX A: MEASUREMENT DEFINITIONS . 190 APPENDIX B: RAW DATA . 192