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                            Funding & Awards
 A Macromorphoscopic Databank: Establishing the Statistical Analysis of Macromorphoscopic Data in Forensic Anthropology
Award Information
Awardee
              Michigan State University
Award #
              2015-DN-BX-K012
Funding Category
              Competitive
Location
                    East Lansing, MI
Awardee County
              Ingham
Congressional District
              8
Status
              Closed
Funding First Awarded
              2015
Total funding (to date)
              $423,959
Original Solicitation
              NIJ FY 15 Research and Development in Forensic Science for Criminal Justice Purposes
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2015, $423,959)
As submitted by the proposer: 
The current forensic anthropological techniques and methodologies incorporating cranial nonmetric, or macromorphoscopic, traits to assess the ancestry of skeletonized and unknown human remains are of uncertain reliability, due in large part to a lack of reference and baseline data associating these traits to the population groups frequently encountered in medico-legal death investigation. This research will address this significant gap in best practice and minimum standards through an effort that: (1) correlates ancestry, character state expression, and modern human variation in a large and globally-diverse sample; (2) collects data on macromorphoscopic traits from current forensic case files at medical examiner offices and forensic anthropology laboratories across the country to establish a standardized database (the Macromorphoscopic Databank); and, (3) develops appropriate statistical methods to be used in the identification of ancestry within a computer program. 

This proposal identifies a significant gap in best practice in forensic anthropological method and theory. This research will develop standard and novel statistical classification methods that minimize among group variation (and maximize between group variation) to identify patterns in the distribution of macromorphoscopic traits. The predictive analysis will use classification models generated using data collected from known skeletal populations (i.e., individuals of known age, sex, ancestry, etc.). The ultimate aim is the computation of a statistical probability of group membership based on the observed suite of macromorphoscopic traits. To assist researchers and professionals in forensic anthropology, a computer program that compares the unknown individual to a known database and then calculates the probability, or likelihood, of group membership will be developed.


This project contains a research and/or development component, as defined in applicable law.

ca/ncf



  
Grant-Funded Publications
        
                      Ancestry Estimation Using Cranial and Postcranial Macromorphoscopic Traits
                  Morphoscopic ancestry estimates in Filipino crania using multivariate probit regression models
                  Observer error and its impact on ancestry estimation using dental morphology
                  A Macromorphoscopic Databank: Establishing the Statistical Analysis of Macromorphoscopic Data in Forensic Anthropology
                  Intraobserver Error in Macromorphoscopic Trait Data
                  Refining Asian Ancestry Classifications via Cranial Macromorphoscopic Traits
                  The Macromorphoscopic Databank
                  Macromorphoscopic trait expression in a cranial sample Medellin, Colombia

  
Date Created: September 16, 2015
    
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