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MEDIA RELEASE
25 APRIL 2014
Researcher uses long bone pics to ID SA’s missing children
Forensic anthropologist Dr Kyra Stull has developed a reliable tool that police,
forensic pathologists and anthropologists can use to age and sex the remains of
unidentified missing children. In the process, she has also compiled the world’s
largest known sample of children’s long bone images.
Dr Stull developed the tool as part of her doctoral research in anatomy at the
University of Pretoria. Her PhD was one of eight conferred by the Faculty of Health
Sciences during its Autumn Graduation Ceremony. A total of 214 new doctors and
42 dentists also graduated.
Her study is the first to successfully estimate the age and sex of sub-adult children
(younger than 12 years old) using an extensive number of measurements and
multivariate statistical methods. As a next step, a computer software program will be
developed that forensic anthropologists and other forensic practitioners can use.
Scientists generally argue that difference between boys and girls are not fully
established in their skeletons until they reach adolescence. Dr Stull has, however,
shown that it is indeed possible to accurately and reliably estimate the sex of subadult children (younger than 12 years) using a large number of measurements from
their long bones (including the humerus and femur). She applied statistical models
that have yet to be used in anthropology for this purpose.
She obtained skeletal information of 1 380 children from Cape Town’s Salt River
Forensic Pathology Service and Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital. Dr
Stull analysed Lodox Statscan radiographic images captured from this group of
children. The Lodox Statscan is a full-body, low-dosage radiographic machine and is
used in trauma units or in forensic laboratories during post-mortem examinations.
“The machine was originally designed in South Africa for the diamond mining
industry but has since been used in hospitals and morgues worldwide,” explains Dr
Stull.
Her sample is reflective of the South African population, and has led to the
development of the first accurate, reliable, and applicable technique in the world to
estimate the age and sex of children. Historically, forensic anthropologists could only
compare data to antiquated growth studies from North America and Europe.
Unravelling skeletal clues
“Estimating age from the skeletal components of a living child is complex,” Dr Stull
explains. “It is even more difficult when the child is deceased and unknown.
“The main goal of a forensic anthropological analysis is to establish an accurate
biological profile consisting of estimations of sex, age, ancestry and stature of
unidentified human remains,” she explains. “The biological profile is then used by the
police to narrow down the list of missing individuals to ultimately identify the person.
“Homicide involving children is ubiquitous in all countries and dire improvements are
needed to address the accuracy of methods routinely used in forensic anthropology,
forensic pathology, and other related fields,” she believes.
Images such as is obtained through Lodox Statscan are proving to be invaluable, as
researchers do not have to rely on actual collected bone samples to build biological
profiles. Anthropologists and other practitioners have long used skeletal collections
as the primary data source for their research but find it difficult to create or validate
the techniques they develop for children because only a few documented skeletal
collections of children’s bones exist. Further, the available material is often either too
limited or antiquated to apply to modern populations. Children, for instance, are now
taller than they were 100 years ago and experience maturation at earlier ages.
Additionally, genetic differences, environmental influences, nutrition, and lifestyle
also cause variation among populations (with regard to size, proportions and growth
trajectories for instance).
Reference: Stull, K. (2013). “An Osteometric Evaluation of Age and Sex Differences
in the Long Bones of South African Children from the Western Cape.” PhD
Dissertation: University of Pretoria.
More about Dr Kyra Stull
She received a BA in Anthropology from the University of Tennessee in the USA in
2006, and graduated in 2008 with a MSc in Biological and Forensic Anthropology
from Mercyhurst University. From 2009 to 2011, she was the Coordinator of the
Forensic Anthropology Center at Texas State University. In 2011, she and her
husband moved to Pretoria to start her doctoral studies. She was recently appointed
as an Assistant Professor in the Anthropology Department at Idaho State University
Photograph captions:
Lodox Scan.jpg
A Lodox Statscan radiographic image of a child around 4 years of age. Photo: Red
Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital
DrKyraStull.jpg
Dr Kyra Stull, measuring a femur that is part of the Pretoria Bone Collection at the
University of Pretoria. Photo: Jolandie Myburgh
For more information on the study, please contact:
Dr Kyra Stull
PhD graduate in the Faculty of Health Science
University of Pretoria
+1 864 230 2301 USA cell phone
[email protected]
Supervisor contact details: Prof Ericka L’Abbé: +27 082 213 2285
For more information on the University of Pretoria, please contact:
Nicolize Mulder
Senior Media Practitioner
Department of University Relations
University of Pretoria
+27 (0) 12 420 3023
+27 (0) 83 709 3041
[email protected]