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http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/skeletal-remains-belonged-amelia-earhart-article-1.3861346
One of the more enduring mysteries of the 20th century may finally be solved — thanks to modern forensic science.
Bones discovered on a remote Pacific island nearly 80 years ago are likely the remains of pioneering aviator Amelia Earhart, new research revealed Tuesday.
Earhart was 39 years old when she and her navigator, Fred Noonan, vanished as they tried to fly around the world on July 2, 1937.
The first woman to pilot across the Atlantic, Earhart left Papua New Guinea and headed to Howland Island in the Pacific. She and Noonan were not heard from again.
Skeletal pieces found on Nikumaroro Island in 1940, are a 99 % match to the aviatrix, according to Richard Jantz, an anthropology professor at the University of Tennessee.
Jantz used bone measurement analysis to determine that the remains match estimates of Earhart’s bone lengths.
He based his analysis on three main criteria, including the ratio of the femur’s circumference to its length, the angle of the femur and pelvis, and the subpubic angle, which is formed between two pelvis bones and is wider in women than in men.
“This strongly supports the conclusion that the Nikumaroro bones belonged to Amelia Earhart,” Jantz wrote in his study, published in journal “Forensic Anthropoly.”
The bones have since been lost and Jantz’s study was based on a collection of their measurements.
His analysis refutes an earlier assessment that the remains belonged to a middle-aged stocky man who was about 5’5.5” tall.
Jantz’s research supports the theory that Earhart died a castaway after she landed on Nikumaroro.
One of the more enduring mysteries of the 20th century may finally be solved — thanks to modern forensic science.
Bones discovered on a remote Pacific island nearly 80 years ago are likely the remains of pioneering aviator Amelia Earhart, new research revealed Tuesday.
Earhart was 39 years old when she and her navigator, Fred Noonan, vanished as they tried to fly around the world on July 2, 1937.
The first woman to pilot across the Atlantic, Earhart left Papua New Guinea and headed to Howland Island in the Pacific. She and Noonan were not heard from again.
Skeletal pieces found on Nikumaroro Island in 1940, are a 99 % match to the aviatrix, according to Richard Jantz, an anthropology professor at the University of Tennessee.
Jantz used bone measurement analysis to determine that the remains match estimates of Earhart’s bone lengths.
He based his analysis on three main criteria, including the ratio of the femur’s circumference to its length, the angle of the femur and pelvis, and the subpubic angle, which is formed between two pelvis bones and is wider in women than in men.
“This strongly supports the conclusion that the Nikumaroro bones belonged to Amelia Earhart,” Jantz wrote in his study, published in journal “Forensic Anthropoly.”
The bones have since been lost and Jantz’s study was based on a collection of their measurements.
His analysis refutes an earlier assessment that the remains belonged to a middle-aged stocky man who was about 5’5.5” tall.
Jantz’s research supports the theory that Earhart died a castaway after she landed on Nikumaroro.
