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WORKSHOP ON FORENSIC OSTEOLOGY (11-12 April, 1995)
It was no nice to see my ex-external examiner and friend, Yasar Iscan down this bottom-half of the globe. Coming from sunny Boca Raton in Florida, I can imagine he felt at home with the weather, though it was a little fresh at the time. For those who are no familiar with our country, the city of Pretoria lies on flat terrain surrounded by low mountains. It has precious summer weather. Warm, dry, and because of the altitude, stimulating. No Florida hurricanes here - and no Californian earthquakes either.
Yascar was the presenter of a workshop on Forensic Osteology held by the Department of Anatomy of the University of Pretoria. The venue was a lecture room lined by glass shelved cabinets carrying a wide variety of skulls. Reminding me of the catacombs beneath Rome it is a fascinating room, with a wealth of material for the research in osteology. Because of the warm hospitality of Dr M Steyn and her staff, the ambience was pleasant. Teas and lunches were most tasty and not too heavy. This way one’s brain stayed active.
The workshop was opened by one of our IACI members, the erudite and multitalented Professor Maciej Henneberg, Head of Anatomy and Human Biology and Leader of the Biology Anthropology Research Programme of the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
Delegates were a composite bunch. To mention a few: from Pretoria there were anatomists from the department; a contingent of police personnel with a young lady who did their sketches and facial modelling; a well-known dental forensic anthropologist, Professor C T Botha from Medunsa University. From Durban there was Dr Steve Naidoo, a Senior Specialist/Lecturer in Pathology and acting Head of the Department of Forensic Medicine at Natal University, Professor M. Haffajee, Head of Anatomy, at the University of Durban-Westville; and myself. I mention a few delegates by name as they could become potential IACI members. All in all there were 30 attendees.
The workshop got off to a good start with Yasar’s inherent sense of humour. With the unflagging ease born of years of experience he maintained audience interest and participation at a maximum.
Day 1 was devoted to the recovery of skeletal material, skeletal identification, ageing, sexing, determination of ethnicity, the reconstruction of stature and factors of individualisation. For those who were au_fait with forensic osteology this was the place to ask those tricky questions and for those who were unitiated there were the informative books by Professors Helmer, Iscan Krogman and others that we all know so well. That evening some of the delegates went to dinner with Yasar.
Day 2 started off with discussions on facial reconstruction.
The subject of forensic facial reconstruction, a blend of science and art, is a serious one. The skills of the artist enter the picture in sketching and more especially in the execution of practical three-dimensional reconstruction. In our Association we are fortunate that we have examples of both professional artists who are well versed in scientific procedure and scientists who are capable modellers of the face.
The importance of a scientific attitude for artists was well supported when Yasar remarked to the audience, a mixture of professionals and non-professionals: ‘... artists must follow a scientific approach if they want their efforts to be of value and be recognised’.
I am sure we all support this view. We have fought long and hard to have our work accepted in courts of law and it would be sad to see this confidence being diluted by well-meaning but unrealistic attempts at modelling the face, or for that matter by the errors introduced by workers who are unfamiliar with scientific methods.
Professor Henneberg shared with us some of his reconstructive work and kept us entertained with his most interesting experiences. The police then gave us an account of their work in the fields of identikit-type drawings, electronic superimposition and three-dimensional facial reconstruction.
The workshop after lunch allowed some of us to show our work in skull-photo superimposition and the afternoon was rounded off by Yasar’s interesting account of his role in the trial of de Mjanjuk and Ivan the Terrible.
Perhaps what struck me most about the workshop was Professor Iscan’s focussing on the truly significant material. So much has been written on the subject that in a workshop of this duration it is impossible to cover any but the most recent of work. I got the feeling we were being presented with the kernel of what was important in the field. Something akin to summary and conclusions - which of course are the most interesting parts of any research. Hours of searching for the salient points were saved as the facts were presented with utter simplicity, candour and brevity. I have always felt that a good lecture, even if it is scientific, should be entertaining, to stimulate our interest, and then informative. Yasar accomplished both easily. I am reminded that simplicity is akin to genius when I think of the words of Alexandre Busquet: "Childlike simplicity is quaint. It is naive. The simplicity of wisdom however, can only be reached through the distillation of complexity".
Dr William A. Aulsebrook Dip. Comp. (NTC), B.D.S. (Wits), Ph.D. (Wits) Consultation in Craniofacial Identification Durban SOUTH AUSTRALIA
It was decided at the Manchester meeting to produce a newsletter in order to keep members of the Society informed about events of common interest, and to provide an informal forum for members to express any ideas they might have, or report on any interesting cases in which they may have been involved. As is the case with any newsletter, it requires news, and unfortunately, with the exception of twomembers, my requests have been met with silence! I am sure there are some fascinating things going on in the area of craniofacial identification, but I have not heard about them.
If anyone has anything to contribute, PLEASE 
ME
so that I can include it in the next issue!
For those who rely on more traditional methods, my address is:-
Dr. Pamela J.G.Craig
Dental Medicine and Surgery Research,
School of Dental Science
711 Elizabteth St.,
MELBOURNE. 3000 VICTORIA. AUSTRALIA
The ongoing problem that confronts all of us working in this area is that of a reliable database of information from which to work. To obtain a statistically viable database requires sampling a large population, which in turn requires a considerable expenditure of time, work and money. Funding for this type of work is difficult to obtain, which seems surprising, given the time and money expended by the police and forensic experts when trying to solve a case involving an unknown victim. Money spent beforehand, to equip the experts with the information needed, would appear to me better spent. In Australia, as in many other parts of the world, we have an additional problem, that of obtaining ethical clearance from the appropriate bodies before the commencement of any experimental work involving human beings, whether living or dead!
To be reported missing, someone else has to notice that a person is gone. How many people simply disappear, with no-one knowing or caring enough to report the disappearance to the police? It is that type of person whose remains are likely to be discovered 'by a man walking his dog" and we are then asked to attempt a facial reconstruction. How much easier our task would be if we had a reliable database from which to work our artistic or technological magic!
Pam Craig.
Report on 5th International Symposium on Craniofacial Identification held at Manchester University, England, 26th to 29th October 1994.
All attending members of the Society will agree that the meeting held in Manchester was a great success. Richard Neave and his team from the Department of Art in Medicine are to be congratulated. The venue for the conference was all that could be desired in terms of facilities for presentation of papers, convenience, and creature comforts for the attending delegates. The participation of Manchester Airport was appreciated in that it provided a wonderful social evening during which it was possible to meet with airport personnel who are interested in our work and its relevance to mass disaster identification procedures.
The meeting attracted delegates from as far away as Australia, South Africa, Japan ,China and the USA as well as those closer at hand in Europe. It was particularly good to welcome some of our Eastern European colleagues from Hungary and Romania.
The variety of papers presented reflected the large number of methods used to attempt a common end, that of identifying the unknown person. Two dimensional and three dimensional models were presented and the problems associated with the application of the various techniques discussed Those of us who were used to more conventional techniques were introduced to some of the latest ideas and applications of information technology, which resulted in a bit of rethinking of methodology.
Interesting cases were presented to the delegates which provided some lively argument and discussion. One such case, that of two unknown skulls of uncertain age presented by Dr. Eva Klonowski, prompted Richard Helmer to declare that he could tell they were not particularly old by the "taste"! Although we all knew Richard meant "smell", the mental picture of our eminent founder feasting on skeletal remains in order to age his specimens provided a great deal of amusement!
The meeting gave all of us a chance to discuss our various problems with others working in the field and afforded the opportunity to create new friendships and renew old ones. This, to me is the great value of such gatherings , particularly for those of us who live on the other side of the world.
As if he had not worked hard enough already, Richard Neave conducted a post-conference workshop on sculpture technique which was attended by five of our members. It was fascinating to watch a master at work, and daunting to try to emulate him! We all learnt a great deal and had a lot of fun trying to build faces from clay on plaster models of skulls. Many thanks are due to Richard, Roz and the team in the Department of Art in Medicine, both for the time put into the workshop and for the care and thought that went into organising a most successful conference.
The 6th annual meeting of the International Association for Craniofacial Identification.
To be held from November 8th to 11th at the Sheraton Inn, Boca Raton, Florida, U.S.A
The call for papers and registration for this, our 6th conference, has already been sent to many members. The conference chairman, Professor Yasar Iscan has arranged an excellent venue at the Sheraton Inn and has negotiated a very reasonable room rate for those who choose to stay there. The venue is fairly convenient to major airports, and there is public transport to Boca Raton!
The scientific program promises to be varied and interesting, embracing all areas of research in craniofacial identification. As well as orally presented papers, there will be poster presentations and workshops demonstrating various approaches to facial reconstruction.
Florida has such a wonderful climate at that time of the year it will
certainly tempt sun-starved Europeans to stay a bit longer to bask on the
beautiful beaches, sail the azure waters of the Caribean or feed the crocodiles
(or are they alligators there?). The deadline for abstracts is July 17th.
If anyone has not received a registration form, these may be obtained from:
Prof. M. Y. Iscan
As was announced at the Manchester Conference, an International competition is being held to challenge the skills of all who are interested in the field of facial reconstruction. The original idea was that of Professor Richard Helmer, who mooted it at the Shenyang meeting. He suggested that it might be a good idea to obtain a skull of a known individual, for whom personal details and a photograph were available,copy the skull and allow interested parties to attempt a facial reconstruction. ( The only person who knows what the subject looked like is Professor Helmer, as he obtained the skull.) Completed reconstructions will be judged , and a winner announced at the Sixth international meeting in Miami. The choice of technique is to be a matter for each individual competitor, and it is anticipated that there will be a variety of approaches attempted. The display of completed entries promises to be the highlight of the conference, both for the competitors and to those of us who merely wish we had been.
The problem of meeting the cost of copying the skulls was solved when the Australian Society of Forensic Odontology agreed to donate funds to cover this, and appointed Ronn Taylor to the task. Ronn worked far into the night, and weekends too, (a great sacrifice for a part-time farmer with a passion for football!) and, by the time you read this, the skulls will be on their way to all who requested them. Any of you who have already received one will agree that they are excellent copies, barely discernible from the real thing! Good luck, everyone!!
Prof.Dr. J.Radlanski
Freie Universitat Berlin
Klinik und Polikliniken fur Zahn, Mund und Kieferheilkunde,
Assmanshauser Strasse 4-6,
D-14197 Berlin-Wilmersdorf
GERMANY
Prior to the Miami Conference, please think about the following suggestions so that we can have a discussion and perhaps put our society on a more formal footing.
At the moment, the costs of running things are met by profits (if any) from the conferences and the generosity of the Universities with which the committee members are affiliated. Things may change in the future, and funds should be available in some form to allow for postage of this newsletter and any notices to those who do not have access to electronic mail.
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