Question

The next morning your team returns to work in the laboratory, where you get a call from the sheriff. The family of the three missing boys is pressuring him for information. Your team begins the final osteological exam. After careful examination, you produce your final inventory. You are working with the same number of bones, but you now have determined which side of the body they come from (when applicable).
You have:_______.
• 3 skulls
• 6 femora (4 right and 2 left)
• 4 os coxae (All adolescent males, 1 right and 3 left)
• 2 humeri (both right)
• 2 tibiae (both left)
• 5 scapulae (3 right and 2 left)
1. Based on the revised inventory, would you change your MNI? If so, what would be the new MNI?
2. What do you tell the sheriff? Are these the missing boys?

Answer 1

Answer:

See below

Explanation:

1. Yes, the MNI ought to be changed in light of the revised inventory. Since 4 of the 6 femora are right sided, they would belong to different individuals, so the MNI would now be stated as 4.

2. The sheriff would be told that the possibility of suspecting 22 individuals is very narrow, though not impossible. It is also unlikely that the victims are numbered less than 4 in accordance to the bones found.