Osteological analysis of nonhuman remains: understanding the growth and developmental patterns of post‐crania

Osteological analyses of human and nonhuman bones are essential in the forensic assessment of unknown commingled remains. T. Dale Stewart was one of the first to recognize the resemblance between human and nonhuman remains when he reported the similarity between human and North American black bear tarsal bones, reinforcing the importance and difficulty of discerning human from nonhuman bones. We report findings on commingled skeletal remains uncovered from a construction site in New York City. Preliminary assessment of the bones narrowed them to a cow distal femur, a deer fibula and a pig humerus. Further analysis of the cow femur showed a flattened plateau on the anterior surface, characteristic of a sub‐adult cow. In addition, it lacked the sloped trochlea apparent in adult femurs. At the joint surface, four condylar‐like bony projections were present, consistent with the removed epiphysis of a sub‐adult. A comparison of the characteristic anatomy of found bones with bones from the terrestrial mammalian collection representing 7 genera and 9 species from the Division of Mammalogy at the American Museum of Natural History confirmed our analysis. Our study demonstrates that knowledge of the origin of bones, as well as the developmental stages of the specimens, is critical towards the assessment of unknown remains for a just resolution and sound testimony in medical and legal investigations. Grant Funding Source Do not have funding