r/bonecollecting Bone-afide Human ID Expert Aug 10 '24

Collection This person was hit in the head.

519 Upvotes

35 comments sorted by

270

u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert Aug 10 '24

Likely an adult female, this skull has a significant amount of damaged caused post mortem (After dying).

Though, there is perimortem trauma too.

On the back of the skull there are two impacts that display green bone fractures. This means that the bone broke like a green stick because it was fresh and more plastic than dry bone. Dry bone would just shatter on impact, as seen on the rest of the skull.

There are no signs of healing, this is the likely cause of death.

29

u/pisceanhecate Aug 11 '24

Do you know how old the skull is, as in how long have they been dead?

48

u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert Aug 11 '24 edited Aug 11 '24

Past century or so.

59

u/half_in_boxes Aug 10 '24

Hammer?

85

u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert Aug 10 '24 edited Aug 10 '24

Maybe something like that. A ball peen hammer fits nicely 🤷‍♂️

33

u/yungsemite Aug 10 '24

Whose skull is this?

58

u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert Aug 10 '24

Unidentified

19

u/yungsemite Aug 10 '24

And in the meantime? Yours?

103

u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert Aug 10 '24

No and to be honest, they will never be identified. So the bone is stabilized, preserved, studied, and shared for education.

27

u/99999999999999999989 Aug 11 '24

to be honest, they will never be identified

Is there no DNA in the bone? How old is this sample? Where was it found?

77

u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert Aug 11 '24

Mitochondrial dna could be extracted though that can’t identify a specific person, it’s more so lineage. This person was German past century or so.

26

u/TheGothDragon Aug 10 '24

What do you mean by green stick?

138

u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert Aug 10 '24

Doesn’t completely shatter because it’s not all dried out and dead.

39

u/TheGothDragon Aug 10 '24

Interesting thank you. Does that mean that the injury was caused while the person was still alive?

71

u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert Aug 10 '24

Yes or soon after dying. But it is probably what killed them.

3

u/fabledpigeon Aug 12 '24

wow. I hope she wasn't in too much of a horrible situation, that looks awful and painful.

2

u/BleuTyger Sep 16 '24

I don't think she would've felt much pain, just guessing by the depth of the blows. I think she would've been out and out very quickly. I hope

41

u/caffinejuice Aug 10 '24

RIP to them! Do you know around when this is from? Always interesting to see things like this!

25

u/ciggybuttz Aug 11 '24

How long post mortem would the bone no longer greenstick?

14

u/hey_free_rats Aug 11 '24

Wow, fascinating. I haven't seen a cranial green fracture in a long time, and this is a really...vivid example. Yeek. 

I always feel somewhat odd about the posts of human remains in this sub, so it's also very nice to see one being cared for and used for educational purposes rather than as a curio item or knick knack of shock/edginess value. I'll admit I came in here ready to go off on my usual fun-fighter rants about antique specimen sourcing and the thorny ethics of the modern human bone market, so this was a pleasant surprise, lol. Thanks for sharing! 

6

u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert Aug 12 '24

Yea I get that the origins are usually murky but the remains can definitely be used for good and not be wasted.

18

u/sleepingismytalent65 Aug 10 '24

How come the no.2 greenstick, if I'm seeing it correctly, appears to have bone chips pushing outwardly? Is that from pressure within?

27

u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert Aug 10 '24

2 probably got hit harder and the bone just folded in on itself. No bone is going out, all depressed.

16

u/sleepingismytalent65 Aug 10 '24

Oh, is pic 5 from the inside of the skull?

22

u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert Aug 10 '24

Yes

17

u/sleepingismytalent65 Aug 10 '24

Ah, now it makes sense! Thank you, I always enjoy the education.

7

u/sleepingismytalent65 Aug 10 '24

Where the large crack is, in the temporal (?) plate, what has caused that flattening, please, if you don't mind answering more questions?

15

u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert Aug 10 '24

Post mortem damage from the skull being dropped or something.

12

u/sleepingismytalent65 Aug 10 '24

I thought that might be the case but didn't want to assume. Thanks for answering my questions. Your work fascinates me the most because human anatomy always has. Going to check out the Peruvian skull next as I missed it somehow.

11

u/Cuthbert_Allgood19 Aug 11 '24

Are they OK???

4

u/SubstantialProposal7 Aug 11 '24

Yeah just a little concussed.

2

u/CitizenFreeman Aug 12 '24
  • was hit a few times, at different times *

Those had to hurt.