A new forensic collection housed at the University of Coimbra, Portugal: The 21st century identified skeletal collection

The purpose of this study is to characterize and contextualize the new collection of identified skeletons housed in the Department of Life Sciences at the University of Coimbra, Portugal. The 21st Century Identified Skeletal Collection, which is still being enlarged, is currently composed of 159 complete adult skeletons (age at death range: 29-99 years) of both sexes. The skeletons consist almost exclusively of Portuguese nationals who died between 1995 and 2008. The state of preservation is good and more detailed antemortem information is presently being collected. This collection constitutes a fundamental tool for forensic anthropology research, including development and validation studies of skeletal aging and sexing methods that target elderly adults. Moreover, this collection can also be used in conjunction with the other reference collections housed in the University of Coimbra to investigate secular trends in skeletal development and aging, among others. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.