Limbs found in water: investigation using anthropological analysis and the diatom test.

We report the investigation, using a multi-disciplinary approach, of five cases of dismembered limbs which were recovered from Lake Ontario, Lake Erie and the Niagara River, and examined at the Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario. In all cases, postmortem examination revealed that the limbs had been disarticulated in the postmortem period, by non-human taphonomic processes. In addition to routine gross examination, the femur and/or tibia were assessed using anthropological methods to give estimates of the sex, age, race and stature of the individual. The anthropologic data facilitated the identification of one of the cases. In all cases, nitric acid extracts of the femoral bone marrow were prepared and examined for the presence of diatoms. In all instances, diatom frustules were recovered from marrow extracts, indicating that drowning was the cause of death or at least a significant contributing factor in the cause of death. The use of the diatom test was helpful in excluding the possibility that the limbs were dismembered from individuals who had died by means other than drowning, and had been subsequently 'dumped' into water. The application of anthropological methods and the diatom test for drowning may significantly enhance the medico-legal investigation of body parts recovered from water, and we present an overview of useful techniques here. Anthropological data may facilitate identification, and the diatom test may establish a cause of death.

Estimating diaphyseal length from fragmentary subadult skeletal remains: implications for palaeodemographic reconstructions of a southern Ontario ossuary.

Fragmentary skeletal remains are a significant problem for osteologists attempting to reconstruct individuals or populations. This problem is further aggravated by sites yielding commingled remains, such as are recovered from the large protohistoric and historic ossuaries from southern Ontario, for which individual methods of age estimation and sex determination cannot be used concurrently. While some attention has been given to the estimation of long bone length from fragmentary, adult remains, little attention has been given to the equally important problem of fragmentary long bones in subadult assemblages. Analysis of data on diaphyseal length is a crucial aspect of reconstructing subadult palaeodemographic profiles, particularly for ossuary collections where dental remains are not associated with individuals and are often less represented than long bones. Such analysis also aids in the assessment of conditions of past population health. This study reports the results of several regression techniques used to estimate diaphyseal length from shaft-end breadths. Data collected from two southern Ontario ossuary samples were compiled to calculate the regression equations. Reliability of these equations and implications for palaeodemographic profiles are discussed.

Maxillary suture obliteration: a test of the Mann method.

The degree of obliteration of the maxillary sutures has recently been presented as a useful technique for predicting the age at death of adult skeletal remains. A replicative study of the method on a sample of male skeletons of verified age was undertaken to test its accuracy. Results indicated that the variability in predicted age, as reflected by the total suture score, was too great to recommend use of the method for age determination in individual forensic science cases.