The Art of Reading the Bones

“Dead men tell lots of tales, you just need to be able to read the bones to get them.”

So says State Archaeologist Nicholas Bellantoni, who has decades of experience examining remains, and often works with local law enforcement to unravel clues with his specialized knowledge of forensics. 

Last Thursday, Bellantoni gave a presentation at the United Way building in Gales Ferry, one of six lectures in a “CSI for The General Public Lecture Series.” About 30 people attended the free lecture.

Bellantoni is well versed in the cultural practices of European and tribal settlements, many of which have been discovered throughout the state. He knows how to look for signs on the ground that might indicate an unmarked grave. 

The state archaeologist’s role, he said, can take him to sites of potential conflict between new construction and historic sites or old burial grounds. He also is on the scene whenever anyone uncovers human remains.

Bellantoni was featured on the History Channel’s MysteryQuest, where he investigated a skull fragment that supposedly belonged to Adolf Hitler. He said he will work with any remains over 50 years old, talking with families or anyone else who might have a clue as to whose bones are buried in the backyard.

Preserving the evidence

The kind of detective work used to piece together an archaeological dig and a crime scene, he said, is very similar. Both require investigators to disturb the evidence in order to examine it and make more discoveries.

“When we excavate a sight, we destroy it,” Bellantoni said. To keep track of the location of everything, it is essential for archaeologists to painstakingly map everything in its original location, often in three dimensions.”

The dirt itself is often a big clue in finding out where something is buried, he said. Connecticut’s stratified dirt leaves signs of burials, such as a different color soil put on top of a hole and disturbances detectable by sweeping the ground with radar. Because digging aerates the soil, it expands, meaning that there will always be extra soil that doesn’t go back into the hole.

Once Bellantoni finds bones, he is able to determine characteristics, such as age at death and gender. Bone analysis can also reveal the deceased’s diet and lifestyle. It is common to find stress in the vertebrae of New England farmers, Bellantoni explained, because of the years they spent heaving massive stones up onto walls.

In his career, Bellantoni said, he has investigated everything from Native American and colonial sites to modern crime cases. Forensic archaeology, he explained, has been used in all kinds of current applications, from the Station Fire in Rhode Island to Ground Zero and the Staten Island Landfill, where specialists searched debris for DNA and personal effects that might have been used to identify bodies.

Archaeologists have been able to investigate human rights abuses in Central America and in crimes perpetrated in Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. This may be a surprise to people whose conception of an archaeologist is someone probing ancient ruins in Egypt. “I don’t think the general public thinks of archaeology this way,” Bellantoni said.

Marge Anderson of i5 Teaching Network in Gales Ferry arranged the lecture as a free service to interested members of the public. Anderson, who has invited Bellantoni to speak before, volunteers her time organizing the events and even bought snacks and drinks for attendees.

Some upcoming lecture topics will include “Computer Crimes: Social Networking,” on March 24. Sgt. James Smith of the State Police will discuss analyzing trace evidence on the crime scene and the use of dogs by law enforcement.

People interested in trying their own hand at forensic archaeology can sign up for a simulated dig over at the Alice Acres Farm in Gale’s Ferry. Participants will comb through a model crime and a model archaeology site to find artifacts planted by organizers, working to solve a mystery. The event is on April 29. Registration deadline is April 1, and there is a $125 fee.

To pre-register for this or one of the free lectures, email name and phone number to i5 Teaching Newtwork.