COMPARATIVE OSTEOLOGICAL SKILLS IN THE PRACTICE OF FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY: AN EXAMPLE TO STRESS AN EDUCATIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL POINT

This article presents a case of accidental retrieval of osteological remains by the police for which the intervention of specialised diagnostic skills is required in order to efficiently serve the justice system, leading to a correct identification of the examined species. In this instance two fused osteological elements were preliminarily considered by a coroner to be potentially belonging to the human species and could only be determined not to be so – belonging instead to a non-human animal species – by applying comparative osteological methodology. The discussed case also offers relevant insights into the taphonomic alterations caused by the environment in which the remains lay. Finally, a rational education and professional workflow is suggested to optimize diagnostic situations like the one in question.