An Examination of Commingled Atlantoaxial Joints by Deviation Analysis

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Continued Advances in Method and Theory for Commingled Remains" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

This study builds on previous research that incorporated deviation analyses into sorting commingled human remains. This presentation will analyze a relatively untested joint surface, the atlantoaxial joint, to exclude potential commingled joint pairs. Virtual models were created at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville Donated Skeletal Collection from 68 atlases and 69 axes using an EinScan-Pro 2× + Handheld Surface Scanner. The shape of the articular surfaces was analyzed in Geomagic Wrap 2017, and the congruency of the two facets was measured with a deviation analysis. ROC curves were performed on a reference sample composed of 200 commingled and non-commingled joint pairs to identify threshold values that could help separate commingled remains. A validation sample of 225 pairs was subsequently examined to demonstrate the efficacy of this method on a sample of unknown individuals. Statistical analyses demonstrated that the deviation analysis values from commingled joints were significantly larger than those from non-commingled individuals (p < 0.0001). Based on the selected threshold values, 66%–71% of atlantoaxial joint pairs were correctly excluded. This objective technique improves upon previously subjective strategies for rejecting commingled atlantoaxial joints and can assist bioarchaeologists in the interpretation of commingled assemblages.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)   •
• Continued Advances in Method and Theory for Commingled Remains

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38317.0