Forensic Anthropology and Forensic Science in the News
Detectives use fingerprints from photo of suspect’s hand to ID him in child porn case
Detectives in Florida have found a handy, new way to nail perps. Trailblazing agents in Sarasota County used fingerprints from a photograph of a suspect's hand to identify him as the creep seen sexually abusing a 1-year-old boy in incriminating images found on his confiscated cell phone. Read more at the New York Daily News.
Searching for Earhart is his life’s quest, despite doubters
OXFORD, Pennsylvania — There are many people with theories about what happened to Amelia Earhart. But few stir up more excitement — or more ire — than Ric Gillespie. Read more at the Washington Post.
As women keep washing up dead, Ohio town fears a serial killer is on the loose
For years, Chillicothe, Ohio, was known as just another notch on the Rust Belt, afflicted by the same old problems of drugs, poverty and unemployment. If the town ever made national news, it was because a presidential candidate stopped by vowing to fix things, only for those promises to evaporate after Election Day. Read more at the Washington Post.
UT offering country’s first graduate program in forensic odontology and human ID
The University of Tennessee is offering its first post-graduate degree program in forensic odontology in the United States. The program includes faculty who were involved in identifying victims at the World Trade Center attack on 9-11. Read more at Knoxville Daily Sun.
What Lies Beneath: The Buried Potter’s Fields of the Lower East Side
Privy holes, landfills, fortification walls, canals, and the like together comprise the foundation layers of this city. Burial grounds, too. In fact, extensive historical documentation reveals that many New York City parks once served as burial grounds. There have been several occasions (perhaps most significantly, the discovery of the African Burial Ground) where uncovered remains at project sites actually ceased development and/or construction. Read more at the Bowery Boogie.
Modern Human Leg Mummified Using Ancient Egyptian Methods
The ancient Egyptians famously mummified the dead to preserve their loved ones in perpetuity, and now, scientists have mummified fresh tissue from a human corpse to gain insight into these ancient preservation techniques. Read more at LiveScience.
The Reason Cervantes Asked To Be Buried Under A Convent
It was Miguel de Cervantes' dying wish to be buried inside the walls of Madrid's Convento de las Trinitarias Descalzas — the Convent of the Barefoot Trinitarians — where a dozen cloistered nuns still live today, nearly 400 years later. Read more at NPR.
DNA tests to confirm if Easter rebel's body found
The exhumation has recovered a skull and suspected human bones from a known burial place near the prison yard. However, experts cannot be certain that the remains are those of Thomas Kent until DNA testing indicates a match with living descendants in Cork. Read more at Herald.ie.
More on tomb of Celtic prince found in France
Unearthed by a team of Inrap archaeologists, the princely tomb of Lavau, dated to the early 5th century BC, contains exceptional grave goods: a Mediterranean bronze cauldron with lion heads and the head of Achelous (river-deity), an Attican oenochoe with black figures, a ciste, bronze basins, etc. Read more at Archaeology News Network.
'Evil Twin' Ovarian Tumor Found In Skeleton From 16th Century Peru (via @DrKillgrove on Twitter)
In an historic cemetery of the Chapel of the Divino Niño Serranito de Eten on the north coast of Peru, bioarchaeologists have discovered nearly 500 burials dating to the Colonial Period. One skeleton in particular, that of a teenage girl, stood out because of the dozens of extra bones and teeth found in her abdominal cavity. Read more at Forbes.
Ancient Greeks Were Afraid of Zombies (via @DrKillgrove on Twitter)
The ancient Greeks believed in ghostly versions of the dead who would rise from their graves and stalk the living, according to deviant burials unearthed in the necropolis of a Greek colony in Sicily. Read more at Discovery News.
12,000-year-old Human Skull Discovered In Mexico (via @Miss_Macabre on Twitter)
Scientists have unearthed an ancient skull from an underground cave in Mexico. It is believed to be one of the oldest human remain discovered so far in the American continent. Read more at International Business Times.
50-Year-Old Lithopedion 'Stone Baby' Accidentally Found Inside 92-Year-Old Woman During Routine X-Ray Exam
