Human and Nonhuman Bone Identification: A Color Atlas

by Diane L. France

When a bone of unknown origin is found at a location, forensic implications arise immediately. Is this bone human, and if so, is it evidence of a murder? Human and Non-Human Bone A Color Atlas presents a comprehensive handbook of photographs and other information essential for law enforcement and forensic anthropologists when examining skeletal remains and determining species and body parts. Presenting over 3000 color photographs, this atlas is a practical comparative guide to the differences among species for nearly all bones in the body. Useful in either the laboratory or the field, it features images of the types of bones that are most commonly discovered, and provides annotations pointing out salient features. The book begins with a section on general osteology and explains the major anatomical differences between humans and other animals. It compares human and non-human bones, categorized by type of bone, and includes most of the major bones in humans and non-humans. The third section discusses non-human skeletal elements, categorized by species, and explores numerous skeletal elements within those species. This book is also available on a fully searchable : Catalog no. 62964 Includes Bones from the Following Species! Moose Elk Deer Bison Cow Antelope Mountain Sheep Domestic Sheep Llama Horse Bear Wolf Coyote Domestic dog Mountain lion Bobcat Raccoon Badger Skunk River Otter Beaver Porcupine Marmot Prairie dog Rabbit Norway rat Squirrel Armadillo Opossum Vampire bat Seal Written by Diane L. France, one of the most respected forensic anthropologists in the world, this supremely organized atlas helps those tasked with bone identification to quickly and efficiently determine the origin of discovered remains and plan the appropriate course of action.

752 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Alan Korejbo · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are unable to have a comparative faunal sample, this book can work as an important tool for you if you need to identify faunal remains. The book is well organized, and although it can be confusing in places, is probably one of the best books to own if you are in the business of identifying faunal remains. The real problems with the book is it's manufacturing quality (I bought the hardcover edition). I bought my copy direct from CRC Press - upon receiving it and opening up the book, a couple of pages were obviously not glued to the binding and were loose. I immediately reported it to CRC directly, and found that they did not seem to be willing to do anything about it (after a number of communications). The book is expensive, and I would expect much higher quality than I received. I would rate the text and content of the book at 4.5 or 5 stars, but the publishing quality and service of the publisher at 1 star.