Resumen de The identification of a human skull recovered from an eBay sale
Ryan M. Seidemann, Christopher M. Stojanowski, Fredrick J. Rich
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 cranialmodification independently supports the population affinity assessment while confounding the metric analyses. However, no further specificity astopopulation affinity could be inferred using existing methods and comparative databases. Sedimentological and palynological analyses were attemptedto 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 Missis-sippi Valley. The sedimentological and palynological analyses, while not conclusive, show promise for use in future affiliation analyses of humanremains recovered during the course of forensic investigations. The results are reviewed within the broader context of the legal debate over the repa-triation of human remains
