Erin Martin

Enc 1102
March 1, 2015
Annotated bibliography: Commingled Human Remains
Commingled human remains are defined as the remains of more than one individual
within the same geographic location which have become disarticulated and may obstruct
the view or analysis of another. Human remains identification is a very complex field;
however, adding multiple remains to one site complicates matters indefinitely. As time
goes on, even the most organized human remains deposits, such as burial sites and grave
yards, can become extremely commingled due to natural causes, such as landslides, and
tornados, or human interaction, including grave robbers and scavengers. This can create a
large bias in results because numeric values are skewed when a set x value cannot be
determined; this leaves scientists with nothing more than a range on which to base their
calculations. For example, if an archeologist finds 300 bones, 220 of them are the bones
of full grown adults and 80 are the bones of juveniles, it is very difficult to determine the
number of adult and juvenile individuals within this population because it is nearly
impossible to accurately determine which bones belong to one individual and which
bones belong to another.
Commingled human remains are encountered by many different fields of study;
they are analyzed by archeologist studying deceased populations, anthropologists
studying more modern populations, forensic scientists attempting to reconstruct cause of
death in a criminal investigation, government officials tasked with identifying victims of
terrorism or genocide, and those who investigate high fatality accidents such as plane
crashes and large-scale incidents of arson. In order to have a precise analysis of a human
remains site, a researcher must be able to accurately obtain the MNI (minimum number
of individuals) present within a deposit, a sex-estimation ratio, which reveals the amount

2
of males and females within a population, the age at death profiles of each individual, and
the cause of death. This process is made more difficult by the fact that none of this is
possible to determine efficiently until the disarticulated bones have been sorted back into
the individual skeletons from which they originated. Fortunately, forensic science and
bio-archeological science have been consistently progressing and developing new
methods of determining these key components, sex, age, MNI, ect, in order to fully
understand and examine the context in which the human skeletal remains have been left
in the condition that they were discovered. In this annotated bibliography, the articles
have been pulled from various scholarly journals including the American Journal of
Physical Anthropology, the Journal of Archeological Sciences, and Forensic Science
International, accessed via OneSearch on the University of Central Florida library
database. The articles discuss either the necessity of new and improved methodology
within the field of commingled human remains identification or, the debate between
older, more dated, methods and the innovative methods being developed using the
technological advancements of the last few decades. The topics discussed within each
article will range from new methods in determining demographic profiles to guidelines
for victim identification following mass fatality incidents, in order to give the reader an
authentic idea of the diverse and complex science that is commingled human remains
analysis and the infinite circumstances in which it is necessary.

3
Adams, Bradley J. [b1] (analytic), and Lyle W. [b2] (analytic) KONIGSBERG.
"Estimation Of The Most Likely Number Of Individuals From Commingled
Human

Skeletal

Remains

(English)." American

Journal

Of

Physical

Anthropology 125.2 (0001): 138-151.FRANCIS. Web. 1 March. 2015.

This article, written by, by Bradley J. Adams and Lyle W. Konisberg, professors of
anthropology at the University of Tennessee, explores three separate methods for
comparing the Most Likely Number of Individuals within a commingled human
skeletal remains deposit as well as providing examples and giving details of each
based from a case study from Lodge 21 at the Larson site. The authors compare
the Lincoln index, Minimum number of individuals, and Most likely number of
individuals; the results of this detailed how MNI was found to yield the most
accurate results. This is then explained within the context of the Lodge 21 case
where protohistoric inhabitants were massacred and left to decompose in a mass
grave. The main point of this article is to explain each method of analysis,
compare them via multiple algorithmic studies, and to publicize their findings at
the Larson site for fellow anthropologists to utilize within their own studies. The
claims made within this article were given more credibility by the testimony of
the results as applied to the case study from Lodge 21.

Byrd, John E. "Commingled And Disarticulated Human Remains: Working Toward

Improved Theory, Method, And Data." American Journal Of Physical
Anthropology 2 (2014): 309. Academic OneFile. Web. 1 Mar. 2015.

4
This article written by Anna Osterholtz, Kathryn Baustian, and Debra Martin,
members of the American Association of Anthropologist, is a review of a book
written by John E. Byrd, the head anthropologist at the Central Identification
Laboratory in Hawaii. This is rather misleading based on the facts that the title of
the article is identical to the title of the book with no indication that it is merely a
review; there is an abstract outlining only the main idea of the book and, the
author is listed as John. E. Byrd until the end of the article when the editors are
credited with their ideas. This is wholly problematic since the review was
extremely positive and full of information that seems excessively useful to
anthropologists and archeologist conducting research on commingled human
remains. However, upon further research, the book written by John Byrd is
seemingly impossible to aquire and the article within the American Journal of
Physical Anthropology gave no indication of how to access the book; this is quite
unprofessional and leaves room for question regarding the credibility of this
source.

Garrido-Varas, Claudia, et al. "A New Method To Pair-Match Metacarpals Using

Bilateral Asymmetry And Shape Analysis." Journal Of Forensic Sciences (WileyBlackwell) 60.1 (2015): 118-123. Academic Search Premier. Web. 1 Mar. 2015.
This article, written by Claudia Garrido-Varas, a professor of biological sciences at
St. Johns University in New York, examines a completely new and alternative
method for assembling individual remains found in a commingled state. The
authors propose the use of traditional anthropometric size measurements that will

5
aid in analyzing shape via geometric morphometrics, used to form pairs from the
unidentified remains based on statistics. The authors tested this hypothesis that
shape asymmetry in individuals is smaller than that of individuals that share
similar dimensions. To test this, the authors measured the maximum length of
metacarpals to reveal the asymmetry between left and right metacarpals.
Following this test, they were able to pair-match individual remains with a much
higher accuracy than that of the elimination method. Although this article holds a
certain level of credibility based on the high education level of the author and
their status as a university professor, the claims made in this article seem to be
somewhat debatable being that anthropometry is a rather inaccurate method for
individual identification since it is possible for many individuals to have the same
dimensions.

Garrido Varas, Claudia, and Marisol Intriago Leiva. "Managing Commingled Remains
From Mass Graves: Considerations, Implications And Recommendations From A
Human Rights Case In Chile." Forensic Science International 219.1-3 (n.d.): E19E24.Biological Abstracts 1969 - Present. Web. 17 Mar. 2015.
This article, written by Claudia Garrido Varas, a professor conducting research at
Teeside University in Chile, serves the purpose of creating a guideline for future
archeologists and law enforcement officers to follow when analyzing commingled
remains as part of a human rights case. This particular case was exceptionally
difficult to analyze because the human remains were commingled with remains
that were not part of the criminal investigation; not only did investigators need to

6
sort through the bones to create individual skeletons; they then needed to decipher
the relevant remains from the irrelevant remains. Although this article goes into
great detail regarding the political policies that are necessary to maintain a level
of organization throughout the different agencies involved in the investigation, it
lacked the same detail when outlining the anthropological methods used to
analyze the commingled remains. The article mentions the use of MNI, Sexestimation ratios, visual pair comparison and process of elimination for individual
skeleton assembly but lacks the detail needed to create an exceptionally useful
guideline. The authors title at the university creates a certain amount of
credibility however, the way in which this article was written results in a certain
decline in the trustworthiness of the information present.

Glencross, Bonnie. "Into The Kettle: The Analysis Of Commingled Remains From
Southern Ontario." Commingled & Disarticulated Human Remains (2014): 67. Publisher
Provided Full Text Searching File. Web. 17 Mar. 2015.
This article, written by Bonnie Glencross, a professor of human skeletal anatomy
and archeology at the Wilfred Laurier University in Toronto, Canada, serves the
purpose of explaining a serious problem that arises when studying past
populations based on commingled human remains. Glencross explains that within
certain commingled remains sites, it is nearly impossible to sort the remains into
individual skeletons; this creates a bias in the information provided by the remains
because there is no information about the individual. If only commingled remains
are available, the only research that can be uncovered is that of the entire

7
population as a whole. Although, it may be obvious if one individual was
suffering from bone disease or had been subject to serious post-mortem trauma,
the individual way of life remains a complete mystery. She goes on to give
examples from a commingled human remains deposit in southern Ontario where
this dilemma is extremely prevalent and frustrating to archeologists attempting to
study the culture of the Native population on an individual level. This article is an
exceptional example of why continued research, and improved methodology are
necessary to accurately and efficiently analyze commingled human remains.

Goncalves, David, et al. "Sample-Specific Sex Estimation In Archaeological Contexts

With Commingled Human Remains: A Case Study From The Middle Neolithic
Cave Of Bom Santo In Portugal." Journal Of Archaeological Science (2014):
185. Academic OneFile. Web. 1 Mar. 2015.
This article was written, in part, by four authors, each with a degree in
anthropology or archeology, and is used to explain a method of determining the
sex ratio within commingled human remains. The method most commonly used
involved the mandibular angle, since these vary between the sexes and serve as an
easy basis for comparison, however, this article examined and tested a new
approach using archeological odontometry to evaluate the canine teeth present
within the remains as a new method of revealing sex ratios. The author states that
the results of the two methods were extremely similar; leading him to believe that
both methods are equally reliable. He then went on to explain how these methods
were used in a case study relying on odontometry to examine the sex ratio of

8
human remains discovered in the Middle Neolithic cave necropolis of Bom Santo
in Portugal; the results of this study confirmed that both methods resulted in an
equally low margin of error. This claim is made credible by both the field work
outlined within the article and also the large number of highly educated
individuals who collaborated in the research and the composition of the article.

Gonzalez-Rodriguez, J, and G Fowler. "A Study On The Discrimination Of Human

Skeletons Using X-Ray Fluorescence And Chemometric Tools In Chemical
Anthropology." Forensic Science International 231.1-3 (n.d.): Science Citation
Index. Web. 17 Mar. 2015.
This article, written by G. Fowler and J. Rodriguez-Gonzalez, professors at the
University of Lincoln in the United Kingdom, describes a new scientific method
used to separate commingled skeletal remains into individual skeletons with
accuracy. This method is very innovative and completely unlike others outlined in
this bibliography. This method is called XRF analysis; XRF analysis is a type of
non-destructive analysis that uses the energy production of atoms to determine
which bones belong to a certain individual. Atoms within certain individuals often
behave in a similar manner, leading to an average amount of energy given off
from that certain individual; this average may vary from individual to individual.
By using the electromagnetic spectrum as a means of comparison, the energy
levels of individual bones can be measured and compared to that of other bones,
leading to the formation of articulate human skeletons. Although this method is
extremely new and not highly tested thus far, the research summarized within this

9
article explains that it has had a very high rate of success in testing so far and
shows an extremely small margin of error. This claims made in this article are
made credible by the highly revered journal in which they were published and the
high level of education possessed by the researchers and authors.

Gregoricka, Lesley A. "Assessing Life History From Commingled Assemblages: The

Biogeochemistry Of Inter-Tooth Variability In Bronze Age Arabia." Journal Of
Archaeological Science 47.(2014): 10-21. ScienceDirect. Web. 17 Mar. 2015.
This article, written by Lesley Gregoricka, a professor of anthropology and
sociology at the University of South Alabama, discusses the stable isotopes
present within samples of teeth found in commingled human remains deposits and
how the study of these isotopes can aid in regional identification in individuals
from the third millennial BC. During this time period, many commingled human
remains deposits include the bones of migratory populations, by using and
comparing the stable isotopes within the teeth, it is possible to pinpoint a location
of origin for these individuals. This helps archeologists to create a sort of life
history for these individuals and properly asses the cultural practices of these
populations. The article explains that if the isotopes on the inner and outer aspects
of the tooth have a similar frequency, the individual lived in a relatively stable
region within the same geographic location from early childhood to late
adolescence; if the isotopes do not have a similar frequency, this individual has
lived a nomadic life since birth, never settling in one geographic location for more
than a few years. This method of understanding culture within deceased

10
populations is highly inventive and extremely important because most
commingled human remains from this time period are represented by small
fragments of bone with few complete skeletons to study. This creates a new level
of possibility based on the fact that a small number of teeth are much more likely
to survive decomposition and scavenging than large portions of articulated
skeleton. This article is given credibility by the authors position at the University
of South Alabama and also the peer review process and highly selective nature of
the journal in which it was published.

Grumbkow, Philipp V., Anna Zipp, Birgit Grokopf, Kai Fueldner, and Susanne Hummel.
"Analyses to Help Identify Individuals from a Historical Mass Grave in Kassel,
Germany." Anthropologischer Anzeiger69.1 (2012): 1-43. Web. 17. March. 2015.
This article was written by Philipp Grumbkow, Anna Zipp, Birgit Grobkopf, Kai
Fueldner and Susanne Hummel, who are each employed with either the Institute
of zoology and anthropology in Goetinnegen, Germany or the Museum of Natural
History in Kassel, Germany. The article is used as a platform to convey the story
of a mass grave found on university property in Germany and the methods used to
analyze it. Upon initial examination, investigators believed the grave to be that of
a holocaust body dump, however, following closer examination, it was discovered
that these commingled remains belonged to a Napoleonic army. In order to
determine the origin of these remains, anthropologists used the MNI method,
which yielded a result of over fifty individuals, and also a sex-estimation ratio,
which discovered that all of the remains were male. This is highly unusual for

11
commingled graves, as they are usually small samples of an entire population.
This led investigators to employ a rare biological test to confirm individual
skeletal remains for further testing; this method is called haplotyping.
Haplotyping involves looking at genetic material to find sequences of inherited
DNA that are most likely inherited together from either a mother or a father, the
sequences are often seen within members of the same community due to incest
and genetic drift. This type of DNA testing is very closely related to
mitochondrial DNA testing and is highly effective for positively identifying
individuals from commingled human remains in samples that contain genetic
material, i.e, bone marrow.

Karell, M, et al. "Commingled Human Remains: A New Approach Of Pair Matching

Using Mesh To Mesh Comparison Of 3D Surface Models." American Journal Of
Physical Anthropology 153.(n.d.): 155. Science Citation Index. Web. 17 Mar.
2015.
This article was written by M. Karell, H, Langstaff, B. Osipov, C Minghetti, M.
Frelat and EF. Kranioti, professors of various sciences at the University of
Edinburgh in the United Kingdom. The authors begin the article by denouncing
the practice of separating commingled human remains based solely on visual pairmatching; they follow this with the proposal of a new method using virtual 3D
models of long bones to compare the likelihood of a match within an unknown
sample. By creating virtual 3D models of known samples, it is possible for
scientists to compare the most similar and likely matches of unknown samples.

12
This is done by using the quantification of morphological similarities to rule out
statistical impossibilities on the virtual model to eliminate the need to rule out
each bone one at a time. The authors created an experiment using the humerus of
23 known samples and 15 unknown samples; they found that the virtual 3D
models were matched to the correct pair a large percentage of the time, leaving
little room of a high margin of error. Although the results of this study were
positive, the authors admit that this method is in need of further testing before
being implemented on a large scale within the anthropological community. This
article is given credibility by the large number of highly educated individuals who
collaborated on the research and also the reputation of the journal in which it was
published.

Karen Lynn, Cruse. "Commingled Prehistoric Skeletal Remains: An Undying

Story." Bios 2002: 120. JSTOR Journals. Web. 17 Mar. 2015.
This article was written by Karen Lynn Cruse, a graduate student at the University
of Cincinnati in Ohio under the supervision of her professor, Elizabeth A. Murray.
This article outlines the investigation into a mass Native American grave found
beneath the home of a man in Springfield, Ohio. Unlike most articles on this
subject, this article is organized into sections based on different bones present
within the mass grave and the methods used to study them. This includes the
humerus, tibia, scapula, talus and skull. Each of these anatomical groups was
treated a separate population and tested in various ways in order to collect the
maximum amount of information. It was determined that theses bones belonged to

13
Native Americans present around one thousand years ago, with an equal male to
female ratio and few juveniles. This article is given credibility because it was
supervised by a professor, however, the fact that it was written by a student is a
point of decline for credibility.

LAbb, Ericka N. "A Case Of Commingled Remains From Rural South

Africa." Forensic Science International 151.2/3 (2005): 201-206. Criminal
Justice Abstracts. Web. 17 Mar. 2015.
This article, written by Ericka LAbb, a professor of anthropology at the
University of Pretoria in South Africa, serves the purpose of detailing a specific
case study and the methods used within it. This case is highly unusual because the
commingled human remains were found not in a grave, but in a bag, and had not
all died or been buried at once, but were stolen from various placed and moved to
a secondary location. This left investigators with an unknown number of
individuals who had come from different places, different times and different
causes of death. Throughout this article, the author details the different methods
used to answer the investigators many questions. These methods include MNI,
visual pair matching, process of elimination, gross morphological techniques, and
taphonomy. These methods determined that most individuals were adult males,
although multiple women and children were discovered amoung the remains; all
except one died in a non-traumatic manner; eighty percent of the skeletal remains
were missing and that a large number of the individuals had indentions on their
sternum similar to those created during modern autopsies. This is an amazing

14
example of complications that arise from commingled human remains deposits
and also the importance of perfection the methodology used to study and identify
the individuals within the deposit. The claims in this article are made credible
based on the fact that the woman who wrote it was assigned to this case and
performed most of these techniques herself and in collaboration with a team of
forensic investigators.

Legard, Carrie. "Asymmetry of the Humerus: The Influence of Handedness on the

Deltoid Tuberosity and Possible Implications for Osteometric Sorting." (2012): n.
pag. Scholarworks. Web. 1 Mar. 2015.
This article was written by Carrie LeGard, a professor of anthropology at the
University of Montana, for the purpose of exploring the significance of the
humerus in the osteometric sorting of individual skeletons from a commingled
human remains deposit. The article investigates the average symmetry of the
humerus within individuals to determine if the result of osteometric testing would
create a large margin of error within the results. LeGard discovered that the
humerus has a relatively low standard of asymmetry, while the bones within the
forearm have a slightly higher standard of asymmetry; this means that the average
bone length between the arm and forearm is not related. LeGard concluded that
the humerus is not as reliable a measurement for individual skeleton configuration
as other bones, such as the radii or metacarpals. This article is highly credible due
to the long list of prominent anthropologists who gave the article their approval

15
before publication; this list includes Dr. Ashley Mcgowan, the chair of
anthropology at the University of Montana, and Dr. John Byrd.

Nikita, Efthymia, and Marta M. Lahr. "Simple Algorithms For The Estimation Of The
Initial Number Of Individuals In Commingled Skeletal Remains." American
Journal Of Physical Anthropology 146.4 (n.d.): 629-636. Biological Abstracts
1969 - Present. Web. 1 March. 2015.
This article, written by Bradley J. Adams and Lyle W. Konisberg, professors of
anthropology at the University of Tennessee, contains the explanation of two
distinct methods of determining the number of individuals within an area of
commingled skeletal remains. The authors discuss the differences between these
two estimation methods, MNI (minimum number of individuals) and MLI (most
likely number of individuals.) They go on to say that each is considered to be
accurate although they both contain certain drawbacks; the article uses computer
algorithms to compare the two and address these drawbacks. This involves a
detailed description of the use of hypothetical and actual skeletal samples to
discover which test allows a more accurate result. This article serves the purpose
of comparing two highly accepted methods of analyzing commingled skeletal
remains in order to discover the results with the smallest margin of error;
however, it did not introduce a new method nor outline the designed experiment
for future testing; the lack of outline creates a slight decline in credibility based on
the principle that experiments should be tested and subsequently retested by other
anthropologists working within that specific subfield.

16

Skinner, Mark, and Amy Mundorff. "Human Identification following the World Trade
Center Disaster: Assessing Management Practices for Highly Fragmented and
Commingled Human Remains." (1999). Onesearch. Web. 1 Apr. 2015.
This article is quite different than others sampled within this bibliography in that
it does not concern mass graves or discuss the varying effectiveness of different
methods. This article, written by Mark Skinner and Amy Mundorff, two forensic
anthropologists who worked alongside investigators at ground zero following the
terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, serves as a guideline to format the
effective and non-effective decisions made during the human remains
identification process that took place from September 2001 to July 2004. Within
this article, the author designates a large portion of the writing to the effectiveness
of DNA testing on various anatomical locations of the body. It was found that
fragments of the lower limbs yield more accurate and complete DNA profiles than
superficial limbs, trunk or skull and should be used, if possible, in identification
procedures during a mass fatality disaster victim identification project. This article
provides a framework for the ideal decision making process both in the lab, and
on site for future mass fatality managers to follow. This is a highly credible article
since it was written by two individuals who experienced these dilemmas and
worked through them effectively during the first mass fatality disaster eligible for
large scale DNA analysis.

17
Soltysiak, Arkadiusz. "Technical Note: False Catastrophic Age-At-Death Profiles In
Commingled Bone Deposits." American Journal of Physical Anthropology 4
(2013): 554. Academic OneFile. Web. 1 March. 2015.
This article, written by Arkadiusz Soltysiak, a professor of bioarchaeology at the
University of Warsaw in Poland, is quite a bit shorter than most articles on this
subject and serves only to call to light a certain inaccuracy found within the MNI
(minimum number of individuals) method of obtaining age-at-death profiles. The
author claims that his testing has verified that the use of this method in
commingled human remains deposits has overestimated the amount of sub-adult
individuals present in each sample. The problem then becomes bigger as it may
lead to the misinterpretation of information represented by these statistics. The
author goes on to explain that the use of the MLNI (most likely number of
individuals) method may reduce the risk of this bias, thus leading to more
complete results. The authors reason for writing this article was to introduce a
serious issue faced by many physical anthropologists who want their statistics to
be as accurate as possible in order to maintain an unbiased, unskewed pattern of
results on which to base their research. The claim made in this article was proven
correct by the simulated experiment conducted by the author that tested both
methods in a controlled environment in order to compare the margin of error; the
results of this experiment proved that the MLNI method did, in fact, reduce the
risk of bias in age-at-death profiles.

18

Robb, John, et al. "Cleaning The Dead: Neolithic Ritual Processing Of Human Bone At
Scaloria Cave, Italy." Antiquity 89.343 (2015): 39-54. Academic Search Premier. Web. 17
Mar. 2015.
This article was written by John Robb, Ernestine Elster, Eugena Isetti,
Christopher Knusel, Mary Anne Tafuri, and Antanella Traverso, all of whom hold
higher education degrees in anthropology, archeology or human sciences. This
article serves the purpose of outlining the odd Neolithic ritual practices uncovered
discovered at Scaloria cave in Italy. Archeologists discovered an extensively
commingled, fragmented and disarticulated collection of human skeletal remains
in Scaloria cave; originally the disarticulation was thought to be caused by natural
forces or scavengers, however, upon further examination, the bones were found to
be fragmented before burial and stripped, by teeth and tools, of their flesh. This
level of fragmentation and trauma made it nearly impossible to reconstruct
individual skeletons for anthropological study. However, the researchers were
able to use the MNI and MLNI methods to determine the quantity of individuals
present, as well as anthropometric practices to secure a sex-estimation ratio. This
depicts a severe example of accuracy for the MNI and MLNI methods.

Vickers, Sara, et al. "Proposed Method For Predicting Pair Matching Of Skeletal
Elements Allows Too Many False Rejections."Journal Of Forensic Sciences

19
(Wiley-Blackwell) 60.1 (2015): 102-106. Academic Search Premier. Web. 1 Mar.
2015.
The main point of this article, written by Sara Vickers, a professor of anthropology
at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, WA, is to somewhat denounce a
newly proposed method of sorting commingled human remains into individual
skeletons where all anatomy is paired with the correct individual. This must be
done as accurately as possible in order to accurately diagnose the cause of death
for each individual. The proposed algorithm for this process involves comparing
the differences between left and right postcranial element measurements to known
samples in order to pair elements together that adhere to the known average. The
author of this article created an experiment to recreate this method on known pairs
and found a margin of error as high as twenty-two percent, leading her to believe
that this method should not be used by anthropologists depending upon accurate
results in their field studies. The credibility in this article comes from the
experiment used to gather the data summarized within the article; by comparing
the results of this new method to complete homologous human skeletal remains,
the large margin of error is easily identified in an experiment that can be recreated
easily with the same results.