The Identification of a Human Skull Recovered from an eBay Sale

Abstract

A human skull seized by the State of Louisiana from an eBay sale is analyzed. Bioarchaeological analyses of age-at-death, sex, and population affinity suggest the individual represented by the skull was a middle-aged Native American female. The presence of intentional cranial modification independently supports the population affinity assessment while confounding the metric analyses. However, no further specificity as to population affinity could be inferred using existing methods and comparative databases. Sedimentological and palynological analyses were attempted to redress this impasse. The presence of fine-grained charcoal, abundant fungal remains, and small angular quartz grains suggestive of burial in loess, as well as the lack of pollen, pteridophyte spores, and microscopic algae, suggest a likely upland burial location from somewhere in the lower Mississippi Valley. The sedimentological and palynological analyses, while not conclusive, show promise for use in future affiliation analyses of human remains recovered during the course of forensic investigations. The results are reviewed within the broader context of the legal debate over the repatriation of human remains.

NAGPRA at 20: What Have the States Done to Expand Human Remains Protections?

“…Also 20 years out from NAGPRA's enactment, it is clear that the law's criminal and civil provisions have made at least some dent in the trade in antiquities and human remains (e.g., Seidemann et al 2009). Any success in this regard is important.…”

“… 15. The Louisiana Attorney General has used these restrictions to stop online transactions in recent years (Seidemann et al 2009). The Louisiana Legislature, however, made matters somewhat confusing with this provision, as under another portion of the law (related to education matters), it has been illegal since the 1950s to place human remains into commerce or to otherwise transfer or receive them outside of research or organ donation situations (La.…”

Serious Enquiries Only, Please: Ethical Issues Raised by the Online Human Remains Trade

“…A separate area of research concerns the analysis and repatriation of the skulls of fallen 'enemy' soldiers taken primarily during past American conflicts, especially WWII and the Vietnam War (e.g. Harrison 2006Harrison , 2012Bass 1983;Sledzik and Ousley 1991;Weingartner 1992;Seidemann et al 2009;Yucha et al 2017).…”

Mummified remains from the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb, Croatia – Reviewing peculiarities and limitations of human and non-human radiological identification and analysis in mummified remains

“…In many occasions forensic departments have conducted analysis on remains with no medicolegal significance, collaborating in multidisciplinary projects involving human archaeological, anatomical and museological specimens [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] . During these types of investigations, forensic specialists have the possibility to develop protocols for forensic authentication of artefacts 1,3 , as well as retrieve information (e.g.…”