Ann H Ross

North Carolina State University | NCSU · Department of Biological Sciences

Age assessment of migrants is crucial, particularly for unaccompanied foreign minors, a population facing legal, social, and humanitarian challenges. Despite existing guidelines, there is no unified protocol in Europe for age assessment. The Forensic Anthropology Society of Europe (FASE) conducted a comprehensive questionnaire to understand age est...

It is well understood that intrinsic factors of bone contribute to bone diagenesis, including bone porosity, crystallinity, and the ratio of organic to mineral components. However, histological analyses have largely been limited to adult bones, although with some exceptions. Considering that many of these properties are different between juvenile a...

Studies of human fossils, and the DNA extracted from them, reveal a complex history of interbreeding between various human lineages over the last one hundred thousand years. Of particular interest is the nature of the population interactions between the Neandertals of Ice Age Europe and western Asia and the modern humans that eventually replaced th...

This Special Issue, “Recent Advances in Forensic Anthropological Methods and Research”, with thirteen articles covers a wide range of highly diverse topics within forensic anthropology [...]

In forensic scenarios involving homicide, human remains are often exposed to fire as a means of disposal and/or obscuring identity. Burning human remains can result in the concealment of traumatic injury, the creation of artifacts resembling injury, or the destruction of preexisting trauma. Since fire exposure can greatly influence trauma preservat...

The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement has brought to the public eye longstanding issues of social and racial injustice which have permeated the experiences of individuals of African ancestry in the United States and abroad for centuries. Motivated by a desire to disassemble a framework of systemic racism, the BLM movement has infiltrated numerous s...

The skeletal remains of nearly 100 Indigenous Bahamians, called Lucayans, have been recovered in the Bahama archipelago (Lucayan Islands). Until now, virtually all were recovered from wet and dry caves, caverns, and blue holes most of which lacked specific evidence for mortuary practices. In the aftermath of Hurricane Joaquin in October 2015, two h...

Identified (documented) osteological collections represent an important resource in the development of forensic anthropology standards and methods as well as a precious tool for learning and training of practitioners. Even though the number of papers presenting identified collections worldwide increases, many of the collections have still not been...

In 1992, Norm Sauer called for a language shift in which practitioners would move away from the socially loaded term “race” and replace it with the less provocative term “ancestry.” While many heeded the call and moved towards ancestry in their research and reports, the actual approach to research and analysis did not change. In response to this ch...

One of the parameters forensic anthropologists have traditionally estimated is ancestry, which is used in the United States as a proxy for social race. Its use is controversial because the biological race concept was debunked by scientists decades ago. However, many forensic anthropologists contend, in part, that because social race categories used...

In this position statement, the Board members of the Forensic Anthropology Society of Europe (FASE) argue that forensic anthropology methods can be used as means of personal identification, particularly in situations with limited availability of traditional identification methods (i.e. dactyloscopy, odontology, and molecular genetic analysis). This...

The origins of the first peoples to colonize the Caribbean Islands have been the subject of intense debate for over 30 years. Competing hypotheses have identified five separate migrations from the mainland with a separate debate concerning the colonization of The Bahamas. Significant differences in the facial morphology of the pre-Columbian inhabit...

Coordinate data analysis of ancient crania from the New World reveals complexity in interpretation when addressing ancient population dispersals. The results of this study generally support a geographic patterning for the New World; however, it also revealed a much more complex and multifactorial mechanism shaping craniofacial morphology that shoul...

Sir, We are very pleased that our letter (1) has generated a dialogue on practices concerning skeleton extraction/acquisition. This is a very important topic and one to which the universally recognized human right to dignity and respect in death is indeed highly applicable (1). Notably, this topic has not received prior attention in the skeletal co...

Objectives: The femoral remains recovered from the Lesedi Chamber are among the most complete South African fossil hominin femora discovered to date and offer new and valuable insights into the anatomy and variation of the bone in Homo naledi. While the femur is one of the best represented postcranial elements in the H. naledi assemblage from the...

One of the goals of the Forensic Anthropology Society of Europe (FASE) is to map the existing education and practice opportunities in the field of forensic anthropology in order to support the development of the discipline and to optimize the training courses provided by the Society. To address this goal, an online questionnaire was sent to Europea...

Estimating age‐at‐death of individuals represented only by skeletonized human remains is a fundamental aspect of forensic anthropological casework. Recently, several researchers have proposed that bone mineral density (BMD) is a useful predictor of age‐at‐death in forensic contexts. Navega et al. (JFS 63(2):497–503) developed an online application...

Criminal dismemberments are increasingly entering the forensic anthropology laboratory, but the need for standardized approaches to assist in case resolution has been lacking in the literature. As experts in hard tissue, anthropologists can assist authorities in the interpretation of criminal motivation and patterning of dismemberments. Thus, the g...

There is currently a dearth of research investigating the progression and rate of decomposition for juvenile remains. It is thought that juveniles and infants decompose at an increased rate relative to adults due simply to body mass and that skeletal preservation is commonly dependent on intrinsic levels of bone mineral density (BMD). This study in...

Sir, Collections of authentic human skeletons are found across the world and comprise a cornerstone resource of forensic anthropology. Yet no Code of Practice currently exists to provide guidance on the disclosure of skeletal acquisition and processing methods...current practices are, across the world, highly varied...The herein presented Code of P...

3D-ID-Geometric Morphometric Classification of Crania for Forensic Scientists Software Best Practices Thursday, August 16, 2018 1:00:00 PM EDT - 2:00:00 PM EDT Duration: 1 hour(s) Attendees will be introduced to the new features of the new software release, how to maximize results, and how to best interpret results for forensic casework application...

This study investigates the following. Whether the microstructural alteration seen in archaeological bone under different preservation modes can be observed in bone early in the postmortem period from early decomposition of soft tissues to early skeletonization. If microstructural alteration patterns of bioerosion are impacted by depositional mod...

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a promising, novel method to aid in the assessment of bone quality in forensically relevant skeletal remains. BMD is an important component of bone's nutritional status and in skeletal remains of both juveniles and adults, and it can provide information about bone quality. For adults remains, it can provide...

https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1XETT4q6IcgTwk (full article available for 50 days) Objectives Sex and age trends in bone mineral density (BMD) play an important role in the estimation of age-at-death (AAD) of unidentified human remains. Current methodologies lack the ability to precisely estimate age in older individuals. In this study, BMD of the...

The importance of the identified skeletal collections for research and teaching in anthropology is well-known and widely reported. In fact, in recent years, there has been a growing number of new collections around the world, such as the 21st Century Identified Skeletal Collection curated in Coimbra, Portugal, the University of Athens Human Skeleta...

Research into the genetic admixture proportions from different geographic areas in the United States through autosomal markers demonstrates a complex process with differences in the extent of European contributions to Southern and non-southern African-Americans. There is a global mass migration crisis of people escaping war, starvation, and displac...

Review: For more than a century, archaeologists and anthropologists have searched for evidence of when and how peoples first settled the Caribbean islands. Research on this area is pivotal for understanding the migration of peoples in the New World and how small and large populations develop biologically and culturally through time. This unique co...

Ancient Roman populations are expected to exhibit considerable biological variation due to extensive trade networks and migration patterns throughout Europe and the circum-Mediterranean. The purpose of this research is to examine regional biological variation in Italy during Imperial Roman times (I-III Centuries AD) using three samples exhibiting d...

Assessment of development is an important component of age estimation in juveniles. One area that has not been fully investigated as a possible aging method is the development of the frontal sinus. The frontal sinuses form when the ectocranial table of the frontal bone separates from the endocranial table forming an air pocket in the bone. The endo...

While assessing skeletal injuries in human skeletal remains, forensic anthropologists are frequently presented with fractured, fragmented, or otherwise modified skeletal remains. The examination of evidence and the mechanisms of skeletal injuries often require that separate osseous elements be permanently or temporarily reassembled or reconstructed...

After attending this presentation, attendees will be better acquainted with the specific environmental factors that influence seasonal decomposition. This presentation will impact the forensic science community by presenting the significant environmental factors that affect decomposition during each season. Thirty-seven Sus scrofa (16 juvenile and...

Methodologies that improve estimation of caliber from cranial bone defects are necessary to meet the ever increasing admissibility standards. The relationship between caliber, wound diameter, and bone mineral density (BMD) was examined. The formation of the permanent cavity is influenced by bullet yaw, velocity, distance, and tissue properties. The...

Craniofacial superimposition has the potential to be used as an identification method when other traditional biological techniques are not applicable due to insufficient quality or absence of ante-mortem and post-mortem data. Despite having been used in many countries as a method of inclusion and exclusion for over a century it lacks standards. Thu...

It is common for researchers using animal or human remains for scientific study to freeze samples prior to use. However, effects of freezing on bone macro- or microstructure are relatively unknown. The research objective of this study was to determine whether freezing could potentially bias experimental results by analyzing changes in bone mineral...

The recent increase in the number of missing persons and unidentified dead in the United States, which has resulted in an increase in the total count of cold cases around the country, has triggered multiple requests from medical examiner's offices and law enforcement agencies to reevaluate the original biological profiles derived from these unsolve...

The objectives of this research were to evaluate the use of various anatomical features that are visible in standard radiographs and to develop a standard system of assessing concordant features for making positive identifications through radiographic comparison. The radiographs used in the study include craniofacial (n = 41), chest (n = 100), and...

The prevalence of cribra orbitalia (CO) is often used as an indicator of the general health status of past populations. Although debates as to its exact etiology are still ongoing, cribra is generally accepted to be the result of an anemic condition. Cribra has been reported to be declining in modern populations or even be absent. The aim of this s...

The objectives of this research were to evaluate the use of various anatomical features that are visible in standard radiographs and to develop a standard system of assessing concordant features for making positive identifications through radiographic comparison.The radiographs used in the study include craniofacial (n = 41), chest (n = 100), and p...

In this study, we present ongoing research documenting the diversity of European and Hispanic populations. A sample of 1199 crania representing two large geographically and demographically heterogeneous regions (Central and Southern Europe and Brazil) was tested against a sizable database incorporated in the previous version of 3D-ID software. Cran...

Child abuse in its various types such as physical, emotional, sexual, and neglect has been document throughout history. However, before the mid-twentieth century, inflicted injuries to children was overlooked in part because children were often viewed as property. According to the World Health Organization, 57,000 children were the victims of homic...

Objectives: The majority of anthropological studies on dermatoglyphics examine the heritability and inter-population variation of Level 1 detail (e.g., pattern type, total ridge count), while forensic scientists concentrate on individual uniqueness of Level 2 and 3 detail (e.g., minutiae and pores, respectively) used for positive identification. T...

As part of the scientific tasks coordinated throughout The 'New Methodologies and Protocols of Forensic Identification by Craniofacial Superimposition (MEPROCS)' project, the current study aims to analyse the performance of a diverse set of CFS methodologies and the corresponding technical approaches when dealing with a common dataset of real-world...

Unlike in the United States and other countries, the police in Panama do not work crime scenes. This is under the mandate of the public ministry and the tasks are performed by the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences (Instituto de Medicina Legal y Ciencias Forenses - IMLCF) Criminalistics officials. Although needed as a priority, there...

Numerous studies have utilized craniometric data to explore the roles of genetic diversity and environment in human cranial shape variation. Peru is a particularly interesting region to examine cranial variation due to the wide variety of high and low altitude ecological zones, which in combination with rugged terrain have created isolated populati...

Sex estimation is extremely important in the analysis of human remains as many of the subsequent biological parameters are sex specific (e.g., age at death, stature, and ancestry). When dealing with incomplete or fragmented remains, metric analysis of the tarsal bones of the feet has proven valuable. In this study, the utility of 18 width, length,...

In the framework of forensic anthropology osteometric techniques are generally preferred over visual examinations due to a higher level of reproducibility and repeatability; qualities that are crucial within a legal context. The use of osteometric methods has been further reinforced by incorporating statistically-based algorithms and large referenc...

Background: The research objective was to examine if secular trends can be identified for cranial data commissioned by Boas in 1892, specifically for cranial breadth and cranial length of the Eastern and Western band Cherokee who experienced environmental hardships. Materials and methods: Multiple regression analysis was used to test the degree...

A standard method for positive identification is the use of antemortem and postmortem radiographic comparisons. The purpose of this research is to test the visual accuracy of antemortem and postmortem radiographic comparisons of cranial vault outlines and to evaluate their uniqueness using geometric morphometric methods. A sample of 106 individuals...

Child abuse encompasses four major forms of abuse: physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, and neglect. The United States retains one of the worst records of child abuse in the industrialized world. It has also been determined that a large portion of these cases are missed and go undocumented in state and federal reporting agencies. In a...

This study investigates the variation between craniofacial landmarks extracted from computed tomographic (CT) scans and those collected from direct digitization of dry skulls. Thirteen traditional craniofacial landmarks were obtained from each CT scan using the coordinate option in the software Aviso. These coordinates were then compared with the c...

Spanish speaking populations in the USA have long been categorised under the umbrella term ‘Hispanic’, which is a cultural construct. The term Hispanic ignores the unique ethnohistories and biological variation among Hispanic groups with various European, African and indigenous American influences. Considerable heterogeneity has been identified in...

The examination of taphonomic processes and preservational integrity of human remains is of great concern to forensic anthropologists. Preservational concerns are particularly relevant given the multitude of factors that bias the survivorship of human remains. Alteration of bone within the burial environment is dependent upon a range of intrinsic f...

Though radiocarbon dating has been common practice in archaeology, it has yet to be regularly and consistently applied in forensic anthropology. Rather, forensic anthropologists analyze human remains using methods established on the basis of skeletal biology, such as estimating ancestry using characteristics that vary between breeding populations a...

MATERIALS AND METHODS Three modern human (European-American) samples, totaling 103 individuals, were used in this analysis: 49 individuals from the donated New Mexico Unidentified, 8 from the CA Pound Human Identification Laboratory (CAPHIL) at the University of Florida, and 46 individuals from the William Bass Forensic Skeletal Collection (TN). Th...

The authors regret that there was an error with the male stature estimates for Table 4 (male stature equations). The corrected equations have been reproduced below. Table 4 Stature prediction equations for Chilean males and standard errors (in mm). Equations Se Stature = 868.87 + 2.53 Â humerus (AE36.7) Stature = 745.69 + 2.07 Â femur (AE31.7) Stat...

Child deaths due to starvation are exceedingly rare and difficult to investigate, and it is difficult to obtain justice for the decedent. These deaths are considered to be the most severe form of maltreatment due to a prolonged period of abuse by the caregiver. Methods used in developing countries to assess malnutrition, starvation, and stunting ar...

In decomposition studies, soft tissue decay and the effects of the environment on its processes and timing have been the primary focus. Decompositional changes to skeletal material, often called bone weathering, have been observed in far fewer research studies, most notably Behrensmeyer’s (Paleobiology 4:150–162, 1978) foundational project that fir...

Limited analysis has been conducted for estimating stature derived from the long bone lengths of juvenile skeletons. Juvenile stature estimation can be particularly useful in the forensic setting, which may have applications for use as a proxy for nutritional health. Stature equations developed by Ruff (Am J Phys Anthropol 133:698–716, 2007) and Sm...

There are multiple factors for the advent of war, and in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda nationalistic goals and political control were used to justify the genocide of thousands of individuals, mainly males of battle age, between sixteen to sixty years of age. War and genocide have detrimental effects on population health due to population displac...

This study assessed whether obesity significantly affects femoral shape. Femora of 121 white men were divided into two weight classes based on body mass index (BMI) of the deceased. Five external anteroposterior (AP) and mediolateral (ML) measurements were taken at consistent percentages of diaphyseal length. These were then subject to statistical...

Morphometric cranial variation among Spanish samples was compared to a 19th century Portuguese sample using both traditional and three-dimensional approaches. The Spanish samples included the regional 19th century Oloriz collection and the local 16-17th century Villanubla and Vallolid sample from northwestern Spain. Results suggest moderate variati...

The structural breakdown of skeletal remains follows a lengthy decomposition process, progressing from the appearance of cracking along the bone to complete loss of shape and skeletal integrity, that can occur in as early as 6 years or as long as 30. The length of time a set of skeletal remains takes to decompose depends heavily upon its micro-envi...

In the analysis of human skeletal or otherwise unidentifiable remains the assessment of sex is an initial vital element when rendering a biological profile. As such other aspects of the biological profile are sex-specific (e.g. stature and age) and cannot be successfully determined without this preliminary assessment. In addition, the estimation of...

One of the goals of anthropological research is to investigate biological human variation of past and present populations. Of particular interest is the study of sexual dimorphism, which can shed light on the human condition and aid in the identification of unidentified remains. When dealing with human skeletal remains, one of the four pillars of t...

Abstract: One of the goals of anthropological research is to investigate biological human variation of past and present populations. Of particular interest is the study of sexual dimorphism, which can shed light on the human condition and aid in the identification of unidentified remains. When dealing with human skeletal remains, one of the four pi...

According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, the Administration for Children and Families, in 2005, there were an estimated 1,460 fatalities due to child maltreatment [1]. Of these, 42.2% were as a result of neglect only, 24.1% were caused by physical abuse only, and 27.3% were caused by a combination of types. The remainder of deat...

Juvenile homicide and fatal maltreatment remain serious and pervasive problems in the developed world and especially in the United States, where in 2005 some 1,500 children died from neglect and physical abuse. Alarming statistics such as this, as well as an upsurge in the media attention paid to all things forensic, underscore the pressing need fo...

Sex determination of the human skeleton is best assessed from the os coxa. The present study explored the possibility of using three-dimensional landmark coordinate data collected from various landmarks located over the entire bone to determine whether there were significant sex differences local to the landmarks. Thirty-six landmarks were digitize...

Despite the attainment of several adult cranial dimensions relatively early in childhood, skeletal maturity and, by consequence, adult form are typically defined by the eruption of the third molars around 17 years of age. This in turn serves as the division between subadults and adults, which is then applied to population studies of biological vari...

The pool of persons who go missing and subsequently become part of the unidentified population is predominately adult, male, underrepresented minorities, foreign-born individuals, and people from at-risk groups. In particular, a growing obstacle to the identification of unidentified decedents (UIDs) is the increase of foreign-born immigrants, inclu...

Although processes of cranial modification have been documented throughout the world, the effects on craniofacial landmarks are poorly understood. Such understanding is needed to assist the further understanding of craniofacial morphology and dysmorphology and in the interpretation of craniometric studies assessing issues of biological distance. Sa...

According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, in 2005, an estimated 1460 children died of maltreatment. The purpose of this study is to further examine the pattern of bony injuries in child maltreatment fatalities, with an emphasis on the prevalence of antemortem fractures and the presence of associated perimortem fractures. The samp...

The Johns Hopkins University Center for Craniofacial Development and Disorders estimates that 1 in 3,000 children born in the United States is diagnosed with a rare form of craniosynostosis. Although the medical literature has documented numerous descriptions of craniofacial disorders from an anthropometric or genetic perspective, considerably fewe...

  This study evaluates issues of precision, repeatability, and validation in three-dimensional (3D) landmark coordinates. Two observers collected 19 homologous cranial landmarks from three skulls during three separate digitizing sessions. Statistical analysis was conducted on the 171 interlandmark distances (ILDs) derived from the original coordina...

Numerous studies have used the Howells Peruvian sample from the province of Yauyos as the morphological representative for South America. Although Peru has a rich history of investigations of human skeletal remains, biological distance studies based on craniometrics are limited to nonexistent. This study examines the morphological variation found i...

Numerous studies have used the Howells Peruvian sample from the province of Yauyos as the morphological representative for South America. Although Peru has a rich history of investigations of human skeletal remains, biological distance studies based on craniometrics are limited to nonexistent. This study examines the morphological variation found i...

  One of the four pillars of the anthropological protocol is the estimation of sex. The protocol generally consists of linear metric analysis or visually assessing individual skeletal traits on the skull and pelvis based on an ordinal scale of 1–5, ranging from very masculine to very feminine. The morphologic traits are then some how averaged by th...

Numerous studies have addressed sex estimation from the hands and feet with varying results. These studies have utilized multiple measurements to determine sex from the hands and feet, including measures of robusticity (e.g., base width and midshaft diameter). However, robusticity measurements are affected by activity, which can disguise underlying...