Validation of a standard forensic anthropology examination protocol by measurement of applicability and reliability on exhumed and archive samples of known biological attribution.

Forensic anthropology makes an important contribution to human identification and assessment of the causes and mechanisms of death and body disposal in criminal and civil investigations, including those related to atrocity, disaster and trafficking victim identification. The methods used are comparative, relying on assignment of questioned material to categories observed in standard reference material of known attribution. Reference collections typically originate in Europe and North America, and are not necessarily representative of contemporary global populations. Methods based on them must be validated when applied to novel populations. This study describes the validation of a standardized forensic anthropology examination protocol by application to two contemporary Brazilian skeletal samples of known attribution. One sample (n=90) was collected from exhumations following 7-35 years of burial and the second (n=30) was collected following successful investigations following routine case work. The study presents measurement of (1) the applicability of each of the methods: used and (2) the reliability with which the biographic parameters were assigned in each case. The results are discussed with reference to published assessments of methodological reliability regarding sex, age and-in particular-ancestry estimation.

Identificação humana em odontologia legal por meio de registro fotográfico de sorriso: relato de caso / Human identification in forensic dentistry from a photographic record of smile: a case report

Os elementos dentais são os órgãos mais duráveis do corpo humano, capazes de resistir e permanecer intactos por muito tempo após decomposição e/ou incineração dos tecidos moles, denotando características valiosas na individualização. A partir desses aspectos, a Odontologia Legal desempenha um papel fundamental no processode identificação humana em casos cuja identidade é desconhecida. Dessa forma, o presente trabalho objetivou apresentar, por meio de um relato de caso pericial, um procedimento de identificação humana a partir do estudo dos dados antropológicos associados à análise do sorriso por meio de uma fotografia do suspeito. Concluiu-se que a associação entre a fotografia ante mortem e os dados antropológicos e odontolegais permitiu a identificação do indivíduo, sendo essa associação de técnicas de grande validade no processo de identificação humana.

Dental elements are the organs of the body more durable to withstand and remain intact long after decomposition or burning of soft tissue, showing valuable features of individualization. Thus, the forensic dentistry have an essential role in the process of human identification in cases whose identity is unknown. This study aimed to present, through a forensic case report, a procedure for identifying human from the study of cranial characteristics (anthropological data) associated with the analysis of the smile through a photograph of the suspect. It was concluded that theassociation between antemortem photograph and anthropological data allowed the identification of the individual. So this combination of techniques has great validity in the process of human identification.