​Instructor: 
Dr. Teresa 'Lilly' White
Course length:  16 hours

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Bone Identification & Recovery of Scattered Human Remains

The role of the forensic anthropologist in the medicolegal system is to assist law enforcement, CSI, death investigators, coroners and medical examiners, and other forensic practitioners with the proper methods used to search for, locate, document, recover, and identify human remains, particularly those in advanced stages of decomposition or have skeletonized.

In the absence of a forensic anthropologist, this responsibility is often placed upon those unfamiliar with the appropriate bone identification and anthropological/archaeological recovery methods needed to preserve the scientific integrity of the human remains and the scene. Improper identification and recovery techniques, however well meaning, have the potential to destroy evidence or leave behind valuable information that may compromise the investigation or hinder the identification process.

Course Objectives:
Upon completion of this course, attendees will understand the processes necessary to properly apply forensic archaeological/anthropological methods to locate, identify, map, document, and recover human remains and other evidentiary items.
The course is designed for attendees with some previous forensic knowledge of crime scene recovery techniques. However, the bone identification portion will be taught at a basic level, so it does not require previous training.

Course Assessment:
Attendees must participate in all classroom activities. In addition, the class will be split into groups during the practical exercises. Each group will give a final presentation showing their acquired knowledge of the course materials. A pass or fail grade will be recorded for each attendee at the completion of class. Those with a passing grade will receive course credit.

Course Topics Covered:
➢ Comparative Osteology
•How to differentiate osseous tissue (i.e., bone tissue) from non-osseous material.
•How to differentiate human skeletal remains (HSR) from non-human skeletal remains.

➢Introduction to Human Osteology
•Directional terms, orientations, and planes of reference
•Bone structures and features
•Identifying skull/cranial and postcranial elements
•Distinguishing left from right side of paired bones

➢Forensic Recovery Techniques for Scattered Human Remains
•Forensic archaeological approaches to recovering human remains
•Types of outdoor search scenes
•Search techniques & detection methods used in locating human remains outdoors
•Planning the search
•Indicators to look for when searching for scattered human remains.
•Survey & mapping systems
•Frameworks for mapping evidence
•Scene documentation
•Recovering skeletal remains
•Conduct skeletal inventory
•Determine minimum number of individuals (MNI)
•Packaging and transportation of human skeletal remains from scene
•Lab processing and remains preparation
•Interpretation and report writing
•Chain of custody

Dr. Teresa 'Lilly' White

Teresa ‘Lilly’ White, PhD, is a native Montanan.  She received her BSLS in 2005 from MSU-B, her BA in Forensic Anthropology in 2011, her MA in Forensic Anthropology in 2013, and her PhD in Anthropology in 2019, from the University of Montana.

Lilly and her husband, Stocky (also a PhD in Anthropology), are the owners of Bone & Stone Anthrosciences, L.L.C., where they provide Anthropological & Archaeological Consulting Services and Educational Workshops to Federal, State, County, Tribal, and City Law Enforcement Personnel, Coroners/Death Investigators, Chaplains, Public Safety Officers, Forensic Practitioners, Physicians and Nurses, Mental Health Practitioners, Funeral Personnel, International Emergency Services companies, and others.

She  teaches courses on: cultural and forensic anthropology, osteology, death investigations, death notification studies including compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma, human decomposition and entomology, thermal and explosives trauma on bodies, bone pathology and taphonomy, forensic recovery of scattered human remains, clandestine grave discovery and excavation, cold case investigations, end-of-life issues, grief facilitation, differentiating perimortem gunshot  trauma from blunt force, after a car fire,  autoerotic asphyxia (AeA), equivocal deaths, bloodstain pattern analysis, social determinants of health for sexual abuse victims, dark tourism, and other fascinating topics.

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