Quantifying Error Rates for the Measurement of Human Skeletal Remains

The project involved scores of skeletal measurements conducted by four experts. The researchers report that errors in the measurement of human skeletal remains can be minimized by using appropriate instrumentation, understanding the measurement definition, and using highly reliable and repeatable measurements. Knowing the reliability of a given measurement then provides a foundation from which to estimate sex, ancestry, and stature. The data were analyzed to assess measurement reliability and repeatability. The researchers then calculated the relative technical error of measurement that represents the variability among the observers when the same measurements were taken multiple times. They then developed a scaled error index (SET), another procedure to determine and compare variability of the measurements. The researchers concluded that the ultimate impact of this project is to develop an improved and more accurate reference database and methods for identifying unknown decedents.