From: firstinitiallastname@texas.net   
      
   Pan T. Waste wrote:   
   > In article <4009C145.4030806@texas.net>, firstinitiallastname@texas.net   
   says...   
   >   
   >   
   >   
   >>A definite negative result would mean nothing to the fantasists, but any   
   >>useful result is unlikely. DNA is simply not the magical thing it's   
   >>imagined to be.   
   >   
   >   
   > Let's assume that Mrs. Bonney's bones can be   
   > positively located and her DNA correctly gathered.   
   > That's a HUGE assumption of course.   
   >   
   > Now we move to Ft. Sumner and the problem of   
   > positively locating The Kid's bones.   
      
      
      
   It's just very difficult to work with very old graves. It's reasonably   
   easy to determine if a grave has been disturbed since the original   
   burial. It requires very careful excavation by someone who knows exactly   
   what they are doing and what to observe. If the maximum information is   
   to be had, this is most often an experienced forensic anthropologist.   
   Wooden coffins normally vanish but leave a discernable change in the   
   quality of the soil. Reburials and other disturbances any significant   
   time after the original burial don't leave the skelatal remains in   
   anatomical order.   
      
   What might an forensic anthropologist be able to find and observe that   
   might be informative? Forensic recreation of facial features can   
   sometimes be remarkably accurate. Some experts, like Karen Taylor,   
   formerly of the Texas Department of Public Safety, have good track   
   records of recreating recognizable faces. She has also done photo   
   overlays, when a life photo was available, for me that have elliminated   
   a skull as being that of who I suspected it to be. In one case,   
   everything was right, including the bullet hole in the skull, age,   
   stature and the sort of place found. She showed it just wasn't the woman   
   I thought we had found. The Kid seemed to have a rather peculiar jaw   
   formation. At least he has that odd set to his mouth in the photo.   
   Results of photo comparisons are never positive, "consistent with" being   
   about the best you can hope for.   
      
   Approximate stature can be determined by comparing bone lengths to   
   established anthropological data. The Kid was good enough to pose with a   
   rifle as a length standard. Some idea of musculature can be determined   
   from the shape of bone surfaces. Approximate age at the time of death   
   and sex are relatively easy, when an entire skeleton is found with   
   teeth. Some diseases can be detected from their effects on bones, as can   
   old fractures. Bullets and blades can leave marks on bones, sometimes   
   matching the cause of death with a known event. Teeth can display a sign   
   of a period of severe malnutrician in childhood.   
      
   In a proper recovery, every bit of excavated soil is screened, and any   
   bullet that stayed in the body should be found, as can metal parts of   
   clothing.   
      
   You never know what might be found, and you never know what it might   
   mean until you find it.   
   --   
                          Gerald Clough   
       "Nothing has any value, unless you know you can give it up."   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)