Quantitative histological approaches to forensic identification of human and non-human bone in an Australian context

Histology provides an alternative approach in forensic anthropology for skeletal assessment and identification of small and fragmentary skeletal material. In this thesis the use of histology for the estimation of species and human/non-human origin is assessed based on microstructural differences in bone relative to variance in growth, locomotion, and biomechanical loading. The utility of histology to assess age-at-death in human bone via examination of microstructural elements associated with bone remodelling is also evaluated. The potential utility of histological approaches using cortical bone in forensic science is demonstrated, with specific application to an Australian context through the development of Australian standards.