14 0 Forensic dentistry8.2.2 Minimum Number of IndividualsDetermining the minimum number of individuals represented in a collection
of bones usually requires looking for duplication of a component (e.g., two left
humeri, two right upper third molars, etc.) or excessive asymmetry between
paired components that cannot be explained by pathology, e.g., developmental
or traumatic stunting. Here it is important to recognize that attribution of
some bones may be challenging, e.g., digits, sesamoids, etc., and that the
human skeleton presents an impressive number of normal variations—more
or fewer cervical and lumbar vertebrae, presence of cervical ribs, etc.14,15
On more than one occasion a forensic anthropologist has received skeletal
remains that may have become commingled on a shelf after many years of
storage. In some cases, evidence custodians clearing out old specimens have
unintentionally associated components from different individuals in a box or
other container that is then presented to the anthropologist as the remains
from a single case. The author was once cautioned by a forensic pathologist
who worked in Hawaii that “an extra patella” in a skeletal submission might
not be surprising since many traditional Hawaiians carried one as a good
luck object!^16 Statistical statements may be needed to support a conclusion
about the minimum number of individuals. This is particularly likely when
there is a reasonable probability that a set of recovered remains may be com-
mingled.^17 Given a total number of bones that can be precisely identified
as to their exact location in the skeleton, and the number of bones in that
category actually found in the sample, the probability of commingling can
be calculated by hand.^18
8.2.3 Medicolegal Significance of Human Remains
Not all human skeletal material that comes to light is of forensic signifi-
cance. Law enforcement personnel, road construction crews, and others
have occasionally encountered buried human remains from archaeological
contexts. These have ordinarily undergone sufficient taphonomic modifica-
tion, e.g., loss of collagen, diagenesis, exfoliation, etc., that their antiquity is
evident. Techniques for establishing the postmortem interval for long-dead
remains, ranging from gross inspection to physical and chemical methods,
have been described ably elsewhere.^19 Remains of historic or contemporary
age may be accidentally unearthed when the locations of private cemeteries
are unknown or have not been properly recorded, or when ground markers
have been removed or have fallen into ruin. Such interments can usually be
easily distinguished from coffin parts, embalming artifacts, etc.,^20 and are of
no forensic significance, although such events may occasionally give rise to
civil proceedings.^21