Graduate Studies
Embargoed Master's Theses
First Advisor
William R. Belcher
Committee Members
LuAnn Wandsnider, Elizabeth Clausing
Date of this Version
5-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Citation
A thesis presented to the faculty of the Graduate College at the University of Nebraska in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Arts
Major: Anthropology
Under the supervision of Professor William R. Belcher
Lincoln, Nebraska, May 2025
Abstract
This thesis explores the potential of bone fractography for use in examining skeletal trauma in burial recovery, such as in the frequent casework of the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Accounting Agency. Many current methods for analyzing skeletal trauma rely on broader weapon-concentrated categories. This poses a risk resulting in trauma misinterpretations, limiting the accuracy of a forensic expert’s reconstruction of death events and, further, legal testimony. Fractography, an approach historically rooted in analyzing the fracture surfaces and composition of a material, can glean information about the ‘why and how’ of material failure by understanding its biomechanical properties and fracture surface features. This research hopes to provide the evidence to support the visibility trends of several fractographic surface features/characteristics in remains that have stood up to the harsh test of time and burial.
Advisor: William R. Belcher
Comments
Copyright 2025, Mack P. Cristino. Used by permission