Poster Session 3

ABSTRACT:

Due to systemic and sociocultural biases facing the transgender community, these individuals are disproportionately represented in forensic casework. Despite the complications associated with tracking transgender deaths (i.e., no standardized reporting, exclusionary methodologies, and misgendering/deadnaming decedents), the Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) has created an extensive database with information regarding more than 4,400 transgender decedents. Through articles, legal reports, social media posts, petitions, and other available documents, the TDOR database provides insight into systemic and interpersonal violence, lethal risks, language usage, forensic methodologies, and circumstances around transgender deaths.

All information and documentation housed within the TDOR database was analyzed to offer insights into the ante-mortem and post-mortem experiences of transgender decedents. Of the 4,473 individuals included in the database at the time of analysis, 84.3% died due to interpersonal violence, with most cases exhibiting blunt force, sharp force, gunshot wound, and/or thermal trauma. Of those identified, the average age-at-death was 29.5 years, a value drastically lower than the global life expectancy of 72.6 years. Further results showed that 64.1% of the database is comprised of transgender women, and that neutral language was most commonly used when describing decedents. It is unknown if a post-mortem analysis was done in 86% of cases; it is also unknown whether 72.6% were resolved.

Through qualitative and quantitative analysis, this presentation will help viewers understand the circumstances surrounding untimely deaths of transgender individuals and learn about the intersection of systemic violence, interpersonal violence, and post-mortem analysis. Harm reduction strategies will also be discussed.

ABSTRACT:

The Aguacate complex of ancient Maya sites, located near Spanish Lookout, Belize, offer an unusual opportunity to explore the possibility of conducting remote site detection using surface albedo, a measurement of light reflectance. Typical landscape elements with high albedo values include snowfields, sea ice, and deserts. Ancient Maya archaeological sites, meanwhile, are typically located in dense jungle or tropical scrubland, where high albedo surfaces are limited. At Aguacate, widespread deforestation has resulted in removal of this vegetation cover along with the destruction of numerous ancient structures constructed of white limestone. The ground plans of these features remain visible in satellite imagery as bright white footprints against the darker surrounding soil. Starting with the albedo values for known archaeological features, new features can be extracted from satellite imagery, while also differentiating them from other high-albedo features such as bodies of water. If effective, this technique could potentially be applied throughout the Maya region, where deforestation and site destruction in remote areas are pressing issues.

ABSTRACT:

Data related to unidentified and missing persons are, at least hypothetically, two sides of the same coin. Since the inclusion of an unidentified individual’s geographic location has been demonstrated to be effective in establishing putative identification this study explores the relationship between a missing persons reported level of spatial precision and case outcomes. Using missing person cases from the Louisiana Repository for Unidentified and Missing Persons Information Program that span over six decades, this research found that the level spatial precision does have some affect on case outcomes like closure rate and the elapsed time since an individual was last seen to their successful identification. I anticipated that case closure rate would increase with the level of spatial precision recorded however, this relationship is likely not causal in nature. While recognizing the limitations in sample size for some of the spatial precision categories and the unique context of Louisiana’s missing persons, these findings do still provide support for the inclusion of missing persons data, specifically that related to geography in forensic anthropology research and their casework.

Despite the inherent relationship missing persons have with forensic anthropology casework, this is an under-researched topic within the discipline. Considering forensic anthropologist’s unique comprehensive scalar understanding of violence, how that violence becomes biologically embedded, and our position as death workers within the medico-legal system, we should be more involved with who these unidentified individuals in our care may have been in life.

ABSTRACT:

The collection of human dental calculus has recently emerged as powerful method used in pathological or dietary studies in archaeological research. In the last twenty years advances in extraction techniques of calculus have allowed for the collection of new types of microremains besides the microbotanical, such as microbiota. This poster presents an analysis of metadata collected from dental calculus articles published between 2000 and 2020 to identify trends in changes of research emphasis, such as types of microremains extracted and regions under study. Analysis of eleven variables shows, among several other patterns, heavy emphasis on specific regions such as Europe, an increase in the frequency of the number of articles using phytoliths and starch grains as opposed to other types of microremains, a lack of specification of sampling locations or type of teeth sampled, and an absence of named theories or other attempts to integrate results beyond historical context. Finally, the analysis of these metadata offers potential suggestions for researchers to incorporate in the publication of future studies.