U.S. flag
      An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.
        Here's how you know
      Here's how you know**Official websites use .gov**
            
            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
      **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
            
            A **lock** (
            A locked padlock
            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Menu

      
        close

            
            
                                              About NIJ
        
                    
  
          About NIJ
      
    
          The NIJ Director
          How NIJ Is Organized
          Mission and Guiding Principles
          Research and Development Process
          Strategic Framework
          Assessments of NIJ
          Annual Reports & Reports to Congress
          Staff Directory
          Funding & Awards
        
                    
  
          Funding & Awards
      
    
          Current Funding
          Forthcoming Funding
          Expired Funding
          Awards: Listing of Funded Projects
          Guidance for Applicants and Awardees
          Fellowship & Student Programs
          Travel Scholarships
          NIJ Challenge Program
          Library & Multimedia
        
                    
  
          Library & Multimedia
      
    
          NIJ Journal
          Podcasts
          Publications Listing
          Multimedia Listing
          Rated Practices on CrimeSolutions
          Rated Programs on CrimeSolutions
          Software & Databases
          Datasets
          Patents
          Topics
        
                    
  
          Topics
      
    
          Article Listing
          Corrections
          Courts
          Crime Prevention
          Crimes
          Drugs and Crime
          Equipment and Technology
          Forensic Sciences
          Youth Justice
          Justice System Reform
          Law Enforcement
          Tribal Crime and Justice
          Victims of Crime
          Events
        
                    
  
          Events
      
    
          NIJ 2024 Research Conference
          Scheduled Events
          On-Demand Events
          Research Meetings & Workshops
          NIJ-Hosted Online Training

                            
                                About
          Contact Us
          Subscribe
          Topics A-Z
                  Share
FacebookXLinkedInRedditPinterestEmail Home
                            Funding & Awards
 A Virtual Anthropological Approach to the Study of Commingled Human Remains
Award Information
Awardee
              RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK, THE
Award #
              2020-R2-CX-0025
Funding Category
              Competitive Discretionary
Location
                    BINGHAMTON, NY
Congressional District
              22
Status
              Past Project Period End Date
Funding First Awarded
              2020
Total funding (to date)
              $138,704
Original Solicitation
              Graduate Research Fellowship, Fiscal Year 2020
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2020, $138,704)
Resolving commingling of human skeletal remains, where bones from more than one person are mixed up in an assemblage, is a complex issue in forensic anthropology. It is important to identify and return remains for legal, humanitarian, and related reasons, and commingling can prevent this from happening. Commingling results in a significant loss of the individualistic characteristics of the individuals present and can obstruct the personal identification process. As the issue of commingled remains is common enough in the criminal justice system, there is a need to devise adequate methods to sort mixed skeletal elements. One particularly understudied technique that has been used to sort commingled remains is joint articulation analysis. The underlying assumption when sorting commingled bones at joint articulations is that the joint surfaces within individuals will be more similar than those between individuals, although this assumption has never been fully tested. Therefore, this study aims to test this assumption and determine if commingled joints can be separated by using virtual anthropology (VA) methods. VA is a multidisciplinary and computer-assisted approach to studying the anatomical data of humans in three dimensions. Specifically, a 3D surface scanner will be used to create virtual models of the bones, which articulate at the atlanto-axial, sacroiliac, and first tarsometatarsal joints. These joints were selected because they have not yet been examined quantitatively, are all different shapes and sizes, and can join different segments of the body together (i.e., skull to neck). The shape of the articular surfaces will then be analyzed with deviation analysis, which creates a color-map deviation spectrum to indicate the overall differences in surface geometry between two specified virtual objects. These colors are accompanied by quantifiable values that can separate commingled remains as values of similarity within and between individuals. This research seeks to identify if there is greater shape variation found between the joints of commingled individuals compared to non-commingled individuals, while investigating which aspects of the joint surfaces are most similar or dissimilar.  Further, the goals of this project include determining if a threshold value can be found to differentiate commingled and non-commingled joints and to rank the examined joints in order of ability to separate commingled remains based on these quantitative analyses. This research project intends to improve upon current separation techniques by incorporating a virtual approach that can reliably sort commingled remains and better inform our understanding of joint shape variation within and between individuals.
Note: This project contains a research and/or development component, as defined in applicable law, and complies with Part 200 Uniform Requirements - 2 CFR  200.210(a)(14).  CA/NCF



  
Grant-Funded Publications
        
                      A novel method for sorting and reassociating commingled human remains using deviation analysis

  
Date Created: September 18, 2020
    
          Side navigation
  

        

  
  
              Current Funding
    
      
            
            
            
      Forthcoming Funding
    
      
            
            
            
      Expired Funding
    
      
            
            
            
      Awards: Listing of Funded Projects
    
      
            
            
            
      Guidance for Applicants and Awardees
    
      
            
            
            
      Fellowship & Student Programs
    
      
            
            
            
      Travel Scholarships
    
      
            
            
            
      NIJ Challenge ProgramSimilar Awards
        
                      Ontogenetic Study of the Pelvis Through Examination of Interlandmark Distances and Geometric Morphometric Analyses: Implications for Subadult Sex and Age Estimation
                  Touch DNA in Activity-Level Propositions: A Bullpen of Events to Inform Alternate Prosecution and Defense Scenarios
                  Aptamer-Based Oral Fluid Testing Device for Roadside Screening of Recent Marijuana Use in Drivers
 Top

      National Institute of Justice

        
        
                        About NIJ
                    About NIJ
      
    
                  How NIJ Is Organized
      
    
                  NIJ Director
      
    
                  Research Disclaimer
      
    
                  Funding & Awards
                    Funding & Awards Home
      
    
                  Awards Listing
      
    
                  Current Funding
      
    
                  Guidance for Applicants and Awardees
      
    
                  Resources
                    Events
      
    
                  Podcasts
      
    
                  Publications
      
    
                  Topics
      
    
                  Multimedia
      
    
                  Reuse Policy
      
    
                  Contacts
                    Contact NIJ
      
    
                  Staff Directory
      
    
                  Submit a FOIA Request
      
    
                  File a Civil Rights ComplaintFacebook
          
                      X
          
                      YouTube
  

      810 7th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20531
      
              Secondary Footer link menu
            Accessibility
              Plain Language
              Privacy Policy
              Legal Policies and Disclaimer
              No FEAR Act
              Freedom of Information Act
              USA.gov
              Justice.gov