Osteometric Sorting of Commingled Human Remains

This paper describes the method of osteometric sorting. Osteometric sorting is the formal use of size and shape to sort bones from one another. The method relies heavily on measurement data and statistical models and is designed to maximize objectivity. The goal of this paper is to validate the use of osteometric sorting and to provide case examples of its utility. Selected regression models are also presented for use with osteometric sorting. We advocate this technique as one tool among many in the anthropologist's toolkit for sorting commingled skeletal remains.