Baliso Athi, Heathfield Laura Jane, Gibbon Victoria Elaine
Division of Clinical Anatomy and Biological Anthropology, Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Division of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Health Science, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Int J Legal Med. 2023 May;137(3):793-807. doi: 10.1007/s00414-022-02870-6. Epub 2022 Jul 30.
The identification of unknown persons, particularly those who are decomposed or burnt, is a global challenge. Forensic Anthropology Cape Town (FACT) is a service provider that assists the South African state with the identification of human remains. However, empirical data pertaining to anthropologically analysed forensic cases in the Western Cape Province of South Africa are lacking. Therefore, anthropological data pertaining to the forensic cases submitted to FACT between 2006 and 2018 from Forensic Pathology Services were retrospectively reviewed (n = 172). This study also sought to assess demographic, traumatic and pathological factors that impacted successful identification. Most decedents were male (67%) and older than 35 years (54%). While ante-mortem trauma was observed in 41% of decedents, the lack of medical records on ante-mortem injuries hindered the use of this information for identification. Positive identifications were reached for 37% of decedents, and of these, anthropological estimations were correct in 98% of cases for sex, 84% of cases for age at death and 100% of cases for stature. Considering globally accepted accuracies of 70-80%, these estimations were considered highly accurate, suggesting the anthropological methods used are suited to the population. However, 63% of cases remained unidentified, and this study showed that skeletal completeness and pathological conditions were the main factors that hindered demographic estimations. Lastly, not all unidentified bodies in the province were referred to FACT; given the highly accurate estimations, these data advocate for the routine, if not mandatory, use of forensic anthropology services for skeletonised remains in South Africa, with the overall purpose of positively impacting human identification. To improve identification rates globally, these data highlight the value of retrospective and region-specific studies to identify strengths and weaknesses in the system.
识别身份不明的人员，尤其是那些已腐烂或烧焦的人员，是一项全球性挑战。开普敦法医人类学组织（FACT）是一家为南非政府提供协助以识别遗体身份的服务机构。然而，南非西开普省缺乏有关经过人类学分析的法医案件的实证数据。因此，我们对2006年至2018年间法医病理学服务部门提交给FACT的法医案件的人类学数据进行了回顾性审查（n = 172）。本研究还试图评估影响成功识别的人口统计学、创伤和病理因素。大多数死者为男性（67%），年龄超过35岁（54%）。虽然在41%的死者中观察到生前创伤，但生前损伤的医疗记录缺失阻碍了利用这些信息进行身份识别。37%的死者得以成功识别，其中，人类学估计在性别方面98%的案例正确，在死亡年龄方面84%的案例正确，在身高方面100%的案例正确。考虑到全球公认的70 - 80%的准确率，这些估计被认为非常准确，表明所使用的人类学方法适用于该人群。然而，63%的案例仍未得到识别，且本研究表明骨骼完整性和病理状况是阻碍人口统计学估计的主要因素。最后，该省并非所有身份不明的尸体都被提交给了FACT；鉴于这些高度准确的估计，这些数据主张在南非对白骨化遗体常规（即便不是强制）使用法医人类学服务，总体目的是对身份识别产生积极影响。为了在全球提高识别率，这些数据凸显了回顾性和特定区域研究对于识别系统优缺点的价值。
