TY - JOUR
T1 - A New Method to Pair-match Metacarpals Using Bilateral Asymmetry and Shape Analysis
AU - Garrido-Varas, Claudia
AU - Rathnasinghe, Raveen
AU - Thompson, Tim
AU - Savriama, Yoland
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2014 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.
PY - 2015/1/1
Y1 - 2015/1/1
N2 - Matching pairs of skeletal elements is of fundamental importance when re-associating skeletons from commingled settings. This study presents a new method that combines the use of traditional anthropometric size measurements and the analysis of shape, through geometric morphometrics, to form pairs from commingled settings. We tested the hypothesis that shape asymmetry among individuals is smaller than between individuals that share similar dimensions. The metacarpals were measured in their maximum length, and absolute means of asymmetry between right and left metacarpals were calculated. To analyze the shape characteristics, two-dimensional landmarks were recorded from digital images of 111 metacarpals. The specimens were analyzed using generalized Procrustes analysis and multivariate statistics. The accuracy of pair-matching bones using a combined method was of 100%, showing that the incorporation of geometric morphometrics techniques-in the assessment of shape in physical anthropology-is of particular use when comparing the shape differences/similarities between individuals.
AB - Matching pairs of skeletal elements is of fundamental importance when re-associating skeletons from commingled settings. This study presents a new method that combines the use of traditional anthropometric size measurements and the analysis of shape, through geometric morphometrics, to form pairs from commingled settings. We tested the hypothesis that shape asymmetry among individuals is smaller than between individuals that share similar dimensions. The metacarpals were measured in their maximum length, and absolute means of asymmetry between right and left metacarpals were calculated. To analyze the shape characteristics, two-dimensional landmarks were recorded from digital images of 111 metacarpals. The specimens were analyzed using generalized Procrustes analysis and multivariate statistics. The accuracy of pair-matching bones using a combined method was of 100%, showing that the incorporation of geometric morphometrics techniques-in the assessment of shape in physical anthropology-is of particular use when comparing the shape differences/similarities between individuals.
KW - Bilateral asymmetry
KW - Commingled human remains
KW - Forensic anthropology
KW - Forensic science
KW - Geometric morphometrics
KW - Metacarpals
KW - Procrustes superimposition
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84921409262&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/1556-4029.12577
DO - 10.1111/1556-4029.12577
M3 - Article
C2 - 25056421
AN - SCOPUS:84921409262
SN - 0022-1198
VL - 60
SP - 118
EP - 123
JO - Journal of Forensic Sciences
JF - Journal of Forensic Sciences
IS - 1
ER -