Details

Related name

• Jantz, Richard J. [Browse]
• Moore-Jansen, Peer H. [Browse]
• Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [Browse]

Series

• ICPSR (Series) ; 2581. [More in this series]
• ICPSR 2581

Restrictions note

Use of these data are restricted to Princeton University students, faculty, and staff for non-commercial statistical analysis and research purposes only.

Summary note

This project was undertaken to establish a computerized skeletal database composed of recent forensic cases to represent the present ethnic diversity and demographic structure of the United States population. The intent was to accumulate a forensic skeletal sample large and diverse enough to reflect different socioeconomic groups of the general population from different geographical regions of the country in order to enable researchers to revise the standards being used for forensic skeletal identification. The database is composed of eight data files, comprising four categories. The primary ''biographical'' or ''identification'' files (Part 1, Demographic Data, and Part 2, Geographic and Death Data) comprise the first category of information and pertain to the positive identification of each of the 1,514 data records in the database. Information in Part 1 includes sex, ethnic group affiliation, birth date, age at death, height (living and cadaver), and weight (living and cadaver). Variables in Part 2 pertain to the nature of the remains, means and sources of identification, city and state/country born, occupation, date missing/last seen, date of discovery, date of death, time since death, cause of death, manner of death, deposit/exposure of body, area found, city, county, and state/country found, handedness, and blood type. The Medical History File (Part 3) represents the second category of information and contains data on the documented medical history of the individual. Variables in Part 3 include general comments on medical history as well as comments on congenital malformations, dental notes, bone lesions, perimortem trauma, and other comments. The third category consists of an inventory file (Part 4, Skeletal Inventory Data) in which data pertaining to the specific contents of the database are maintained. This includes the inventory of skeletal material by eleme... Cf.: http://webapp.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR-STUDY/02581.xml

Notes

Title from ICPSR DDI metadata of 2006-09-15.

Type of data

8 data files + machine-readable documentation (PDF) + SAS setup file(s) + SPSS setup file(s) + Stata setup file(s) + SAS transport + SPSS portable + Stata system

Time and place of event

Start: 1962; and end: 1991.

Geographic coverage

United States

Funding information

United States Department of Justice. NationalInstitute of Justice. 86-IJ-CX-0021

System details

Mode of access: Internet.

Methodology note

• Data source: The database was initially ''primed'' by measuring skeletons in the permanent collections at the Anthropology Department at the University of Tennessee, the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the Human Identification Laboratory at the University of Arizona Museum. A large number of reported cases were provided through forensic data records gathered by Dr. J. Lawrence Angel at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. The Oklahoma State Medical Examiner's Office, Louisiana State University Forensic Laboratory, and the University of South Carolina Anthropology Department also provided several cases. Additional data were subsequently added through data-gathering trips, often in connection with meetings, and through the contributions of several smaller depositories by forensic anthropologists.
• Universe: All post-1900 forensic skeletal remains.

Contents

Part 1: Demographic Data; Part 2: Geographic and Death Data; Part 3: Medical History Data; Part 4: Skeletal Inventory Data; Part 5: Age-Related Skeletal Data; Part 6: Cranial Skeletal Data; Part 7: Postcranial Skeletal Data; Part 8: Additional Notes

Other format(s)

Also available as downloadable files.

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