Forensic anthropology at Medico Legal Centre of the Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto/USP - comparative study of cases from 1999-2009

Abstract

Forensic Anthropology is an area of knowledge that applies the methods of physical anthropology andarcheology within a legal context. The Medico Legal Centre (CEMEL) of the Faculty of Medicine of RibeirãoPreto of University of São Paulo (FMRP-USP) has a Forensic Anthropology Laboratory (LAF), created in2005 in a partnership project with the University of Sheffield (UK) and financed by the British Foreign andCommonwealth Office Global Opportunities Fund. As part of this project, a protocol for skeletal analysiswas established, supported by an upgraded scientific infrastructure, for application in a socially important context in Brazil. Accumulated cases from 1999 to 2006 were analyzed initially, followed by casesfrom 2007 to 2009. These analyses indicated that many skeletons forwarded to CEMEL were incomplete,making the completion of a biological profile difficult. Despite of this, a statistically significant increasewas detected in the mean number of bones forwarded in the 2007-2009 group (112.83) in comparison tothe 1999-2006 group (79.57). Also, a statistically significant decline in the mean age from 38.34 years inthe 1999-2006 group to 35.65 years in the 2007-2009 group was detected, probably associated withviolent crime. Analysis indicated that in the 1999-2006 group, handedness could not be assigned in themajority of the cases (57.14%), while in the 2007-2009 group assignment was possible in the majority ofthe cases (85.72%), with 57.15% being right-handed and 28.57% left. The improvement in assignmentis explained by the increase in the mean number of bones forwarded per skeleton. For all other examinedanthropological parameters, no statistical difference was detected.  Male,  Caucasian and right- handedskeletons were predominant in both groups. The chance of identifying an individual through anthropological examination increased from 73.81% in 1999-2006 group to 90.47% in 2007-2009. These resultsindicate that improvement in the quality bone recovery from the scene and subsequent anthropologicalanalysis increases the likelihood of individual identification, fulfilling the scientific and social goals offorensic anthropological examination.