Bone Voyage: A Journey in Forensic Anthropology

by Stanley Rhine

A husband preserved in mothballs, a vigilante victim encased in red mud, and convicts beaten and burned in a prison riot are only a few of the cases of death examined here by forensic anthropologist Stanley Rhine. Drawing on cases he worked for the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator, Rhine demonstrates how unidentified skeletal remains indicate race, sex, age, height, and ultimately identity and how the specialist decodes skeletal anomalies to establish cause of death. Blunt trauma, gunshot and knife wounds, and other injuries receive his attention. Step by step the author explains the techniques used to solve forensic mysteries. At the end of each case, he explains what lessons the forensic anthropologist learns from the bones. Rhine also explores specific problems and working mass disasters; recovering bodies from the field; defleshing bones; examining charred and badly decomposed remains; testifying before juries; and others.

Genres: Nonfiction, Anthropology, Science, True Crime

290 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating subject, but obscured by an erratic sense if humor and a focus on the concerns of the profession that might be useful for someone considering forensic anthropology as a career path or supplement.

[Teri Reck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sophie gave me this book from her library---I read it quite quickly, being familiar with the topic, because this is the work that Sophie does! I realized, looking at our school yearbook, that one of our graduating 8th graders said that she hoped to be a forensic anthropologist one day! So I pulled out this book and gave it a read--in order that I could pass it on to this young lady. I explained to her that my Sophie does this and told her that if she ever wants to contact her that I could probably arrange it. Gotta encourage these young ladies to be scientists! But regardless of whether or not you want to choose this as a career, it's still a good read! Fascinating what you can deduce from someone's bones!

[Calli · Rating 5 out of 5]

I might be (slightly) biased here because my grandfather is mentioned multiple times among these pages and I grew up hearing stories of his exploits with Stanley Rhine, but once I finally read this book I loved it! The humor perfectly aligns with my odd and somewhat morbid interests and I was never bored.

[Jennifer Holcomb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but not as fun a read as I wanted it to be.

[Windowstair · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chuckled at the title every time I picked up this book. Combining two of my favorite things, forensic anthropology and New Mexico, it was an entertaining and informative read.

[Nan Silvernail · Rating 4 out of 5]

With his dry wit and funny puns coupled with knowledge and compassion, Professor Emeritus Rhine (whom it was my great honor to take a class from at the University of New Mexico *) illustrates the serious value of the Forensic Anthropologist to the identification of human bodies and the discovery of how they perished. The cases he discusses in this book range from a case where a porcupine, an ancient American Indian skull *and* parts of a cow in a burned car (yes, in the same car) were mistaken for a missing man to the ugly aftermath of the New Mexico State Penitentiary riot. Along with these, he presents the history of the role of Coroner and the establishment and rise of the Office of the Medical Examiner (OMI) here in New Mexico and how the Forensic Anthropologist has an important role in this office.

Dr. Rhine is tall and bears a passing resemblance to a skinny Mark Twain, especially when he is smoking a cigar. He speaks softly and writes in printing even smaller than my own. His humor sense is highly developed but doled out in quick and small packages. This is not to say he is not a very serious man. In class, he insisted on bones being treated with respect and care and rightly so. I wish my own skull had been placed on a rounded bean-bag with as much care before it was placed on a body board as his standards dictated after a car accident I suffered!

He's made this book appealing to the learned professional while being still quite accessible to the lay person. It is a fun read. Some photographs could have used a bit more notation (and one is presented reversed, but concerns live persons).

I can highly recommend this!

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* - and I'd have happily taken more except that he retired. Alas for me!

[K. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Part goodhumored, part very frustrating. Misdefined archaeology (come on, guys - same discipline, different branch).