Skeletal Indicators of Stress: A Component of the Biocultural Profile of Undocumented Migrants in Southern Arizona.
The ability of forensic anthropologists in the United States to distinguish the remains of foreign nationals from those of American citizens may be crucial to the identification process. This study adds new criteria for identifying Hispanic foreign nationals in southern Arizona to those previously outlined by Birkby et al. (J Forensic Sci 53, 2008, 29) in the "cultural profile." Skeletal indicators of nonspecific stress were evaluated in undocumented border crossers (UBCs) at the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner and in documented American samples. Odds ratios show significant associations between UBC status and the presence of porotic hyperostosis and enamel hypoplasias, which are, respectively, 7.9 and 3 times more prevalent among UBCs. These findings are consistent with disparities in access to adequate nutrition and health care during childhood. In conjunction with context and other biocultural factors, the presence of these conditions should prompt practitioners to consider that unidentified remains may represent foreign nationals.
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, The College of New Jersey, Social Sciences Building 317, 2000 Pennington Rd, Ewing, NJ, 08628. beatricj@tcnj.edu.
Jared S
JS
Beatrice
Office of Chief Medical Examiner New York City, 520 First Ave, New York, NY, 10016.
Angela
A
Soler
D001130:Arizona; D003334:Coroners and Medical Examiners; D005554:Forensic Medicine; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D009057:Stomatognathic Diseases; D014171:Transients and Migrants
biocultural profile; forensic anthropology; forensic science; identification; physiological stress; skeletal health; undocumented migrants