A Mosaic Pattern of Scattered Human Remains

Abstract

Human skeletal remains were found in a sandy area in the western part of Israel. Owing to their scattered nature, multiple analyses were required to confirm that they belonged to the same individual. The analyses were completed by estimating the age and sex of each bone, if possible, as well as its probable articulation and relative site location. The probable articulation was found to be largely insufficient here owing to low and moderate confidence in the state of the bones that were found and the significant signs of postmortem scavenging. Sex estimation analysis of different aspects of the bones revealed various mixed or “mosaic” results. This case exemplifies a usage of numerous analytical methods in order to relate unduplicated scattered remains, found at a long distance, to a single individual.