The reliability of sex determination of skeletons from forensic context in the Balkans

In this study we have tested the applicability of morphological methods for sex assessment, based on seven pelvic and nine cranial traits, using contemporary Balkans population. The material involved in the study comprises 262 pelvic bones and 180 skulls of male individuals from two mass graves in Serbia. The material was examined separately by an experienced and an inexperienced physical anthropologists. Sex was correctly estimated by the experienced anthropologist in 100% of individuals using all of the 16 pelvic and cranial criteria. In fact, sex differences in pelvic morphology were large enough to allow sexing the individuals with 100% accuracy. Among seven features observed on the pelvic bones, the least reliable single sex indicator was the width of the great sciatic notch (with accuracy of 79.15%). Looking at the skull alone, sex was correctly determined in 70.56% cases. It was shown that the most accurate single indicators among cranial methods was the robustness of the mandible (with accuracy of 70.93%), while the sharpness of the supraorbital margins was the least reliable indicator demonstrating accuracy in only 28.75% of crania. Examination of the sample by an individual with training in physical anthropology, but no case experience, suggests that experience is likely to contribute moderately to the accuracy of the sex determination. Namely, the inexperienced anthropologist accurately assessed the sex of the sample 95.04% of the time; 4.06% less accurate than the experienced anthropologist. The two anthropologists showed the least agreement in scoring the ventral arc and composite arc on the pelvic bones.     

Identification of victims from two mass-graves in Serbia: a critical evaluation of classical markers of identity

Reliable identification of victims in mass graves is of humanitarian and human rights concern. Because mass graves in the former Yugoslavia usually contain an 'open' population of large numbers of unknown victims and therefore 'presumptive identifications' based on classical markers of identity are problematic, greater reliance is now made on blind matches between victim DNA and a database of donated blood DNA samples from family members of missing persons. Nevertheless, there will always remain a legal and social need to show good correspondence between a DNA-derived identification and classical markers of identity. Moreover, pathologists and anthropologists, who must continue to rely in much of their case work on classical methods, need to evaluate on an ongoing basis the goodness of fit between the two paradigms of identification. The Institute of Forensic Medicine and Laboratory for Anthropology in Belgrade participated in 2001 in the exhumation and identification of more than 300 bodies of Kosovar Albanians interred in two mass graves at Batajnica, near Belgrade, Serbia. Of these bodies, 136 were legally identified by the end of 2003 providing an opportunity for the forensic experts to evaluate their post-mortem findings of classical markers of identity. Sex and age at death of young to middle-aged adults were reliably determined but old adults were markedly under-aged. Stature was reconstructed reliably in 77% of cases. Dental status contributed little to identification efforts. In no case did classical markers of identity require rejection of the DNA-based identification. It is concluded that: sex determination from pelvic bones is very reliable, as are age at death estimates from pelvic and rib standards for young to middle-aged adults but that uncertainty intervals for age at death in older adults be broadened or refined by creation of local osteological standards.     

Factors affecting postmortem tooth loss

Unassociated human bones are a particular problem during the exhumation of mass graves and a factor that limits anthropological and paleopathological analyses from archaeological contexts. Extensive anthropological literature has focused on the complex taphonomic factors that influences bone assemblages, but little attention has been paid to postmortem tooth loss and factors affecting this process. The following study focuses upon the influence of different factors on postmortem tooth loss. Three samples were investigated in the study: a medieval church cemetery containing 110 individual skeletal remains, and two samples from a series of mass graves made within the same time period in 1999, containing 402 bodies. The frequency of postmortem tooth loss was analyzed relative to postmortem interval for each sample, excavation methods, age distribution, and presence of bone loss associated with periodontal disease. Our results indicate that the degree of alveolar bone loss significantly affected both antemortem and postmortem tooth loss and that the frequency of postmortem tooth loss has the strongest correlation to time since death. These findings suggest that additional care should be taken when exhuming remains from older contexts.     

The foster family in Poland,a custodial and educational environment (XX – the early XXI centuries)

ABSTRACT

A thorough study of the sources made it possible to conduct a retrospective analysis as well as outline normative and legal principles of the foster family in Poland as one of the main forms of child custody in the XX – early XXI centuries rooted in national traditions and social legacy. Foster family formation and early functioning indicate that its value depends on who is entrusted with a child to care for, what child is to be placed in foster care, what kind of support a foster family could expect, what control is exercised over it. The second half of the XX – the early XXI centuries mark the evolution of the legal and regulatory framework underlying foster care, one of the main institutional forms of child custody in Poland. It appears that the foster family provides a child with proper living conditions and a favourable environment for its education and socialisation, closest possible to those in a natural family. To this end, the state is to make sure that potential foster parents are properly trained. The development of foster care speeds up in the 1970’s and 1990’s. We have discovered that at the turn of the century, foster family functioning, provision of care and adequate conditions for a child’s development and upbringing etc. are defined by the social policy of the state. Of great significance for the international community is the Polish experience regarding the requirements for foster family candidates, children’s placement in such families, material assistance, foster parent salary calculations; the amount of money biological parents must pay for their child’s placement in a foster family. In modern Poland the foster family is an important social institution which promotes the development of a child deprived of parental care and is prioritized over other institutional forms of care.     

Fatal traffic injuries among children and adolescents in three cities (capital Budapest, Vilnius, and Tallinn)

Motor vehicle accidental injuries are a frequent cause of death among young children and adolescents. The goal of this study was to compare patterns of injury between three capitals (Budapest, Vilnius, and Tallinn). Information on 190 fatal traffic accidents (69 pedestrians, 14 bicyclists, and 107 motor vehicle occupants) between 2002 and 2006 was collected from databases of medico-legal autopsies. The role of victims in accidents, the location of injuries, cause of death, survival period, and blood alcohol levels were evaluated. One-hundred and forty-one (74%) victims had a passive role in traffic as pedestrians, passengers in cars, or public transport. In victims who died at the scene, the rate of head injury was higher than in cases who received medical treatment (odds ratio = 2.58, CI = 1.2-5.55, p = 0.0127). These results underline the importance of postmortem studies to examine the pathomechanism of fatal traffic accidental injuries and to provide information for the prevention of road traffic accidents against children and adolescents.     

Forensic or Archaeological Issue: Is Chemical Analysis of Dental Restorations Helpful in Assessing Time Since Death and Identification of Skeletonized Human Remains?

In 2011, small mass grave with completely skeletonized remains was discovered in Belgrade suburb. An eyewitness claimed that skeletons belonged to German soldiers killed in WWII. Anthropologists were engaged to investigate whether the skeletal remains correspond to the indicated German group or represent more recent case requiring court trial. Numerous dental restorations were noticed. Owing to the fact that different dental materials were used in dental practice at certain times, the aim of this study was to explore whether analysis of dental restorations could help in identification and estimation of time since death. Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry revealed that dental fillings corresponded to copper amalgam, conventional silver amalgam, silicophosphate cement, and zinc phosphate cement. Chemical results combined with anthropological and historical facts suggest that the individuals lived before the 1960s in country with well‐developed dental service at that time. Therefore, chemical analysis of dental fillings was useful to distinguish between skeletal remains that are too old to be of forensic interest and the remains relevant to legal investigations.