Posted on 03/07/2018 5:24:28 PM PST by BenLurkin
Richard Jantz, an emeritus anthropology professor at the University of Tennessee, argues that bones discovered on the Pacific island of Nikumaroro in 1940 were likely Earhart’s remains. The research contradicts a forensic analysis of the remains in 1941 that described the bones as belonging to a male.
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One well-publicized theory is that Earhart died a castaway after landing her plane on the remote island of Nikumaroro, a coral atoll 1,200 miles from the Marshall Islands. Some 13 human bones were found on Nikumaroro, also known as Gardner Island, three years after Earhart’s disappearance.
In 1941, the bones were analyzed by Dr. David Hoodless, principal of the Central Medical School in Fiji. However, Jantz says that modern analysis techniques may have delivered a different result, particularly with regard to gender.
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Hoodless used 19th-century forensic science and described the bones as possibly belonging to a “short, stocky muscular European,” according to Jantz. The 1941 analysis described the remains as those of a male around 5 feet 5½ inches.
Earhart’s pilot’s license, however, recorded her height as 5 feet 8 inches and her driver’s license said 5 feet 7. Photos also show Earhart’s slender frame.
Jantz says the methods used by Hoodless underestimated height compared to modern techniques.
Hoodless used three criteria in his research: the ratio of the femur’s circumference to length, the angle of the femur and pelvis, and the subpubic angle, which is formed between two pelvis bones. The subpubic angle is wider in women than in men.
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The scientist also compared Hoodless’ measurements to data from 2,776 other people, as well as studying photos of Earhart and her clothing measurements. “This analysis reveals that Earhart is more similar to the Nikumaroro bones than 99 percent of individuals in a large reference sample,” said Jantz.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Still, she had balls though. Who would have the guts to fly solo like she did, or even like Charles Lindbergh across the Atlantic today?
“Who would have the guts to fly solo like she did”
Guts or stupidity? I say stupidity.
Where’s the fn plane....bones and flesh degrade quickly.....metal aircraft don’t...
How do you think America was explored and settled? If it was up to you we’d still be in the Middle Ages begging our Feudal Lords for gruel.
>> Still, she had balls though.
Actually not - she was pushed (far beyond her skill level) by her husband and publisher, George Putnam. She never learned the code, and refused to take a transmitter with her that was capable of communicating with Navy ships.
>> Who would have the guts to fly solo like she did.
You do know that she was accompanied by Fred Noonan (the navigator)? Noonan, an alcoholic, was often non-functional for days at a time, so that’s kinda like solo.
No, she's hanging out with bigfoot:
Our founders didn’t do something so stupid. They were far more experienced, knowledgeable, and intelligent.
Actually not - she was pushed (far beyond her skill level) by her husband and publisher, George Putnam. She never learned the code, and refused to take a transmitter with her that was capable of communicating with Navy ships.
...
Maybe you’re right, but I get the impression she was a very motivated daredevil on her own.
Noonan was an excellent navigator, and he got them close to the island. The ship said they got the strongest possible signal and Earhart was only at 1000 feet.
The ship could hear her, but she couldn’t hear them. She could hear the Morse code, but they didn’t start transmitting that until the very end. She tried to get a directional fix on the code signal but that didn’t work. The direction finder on the radio didn’t work either. None of this stuff was tested so they were doomed when they took off unless they got very very lucky.
They were close to the island and they only had a few minutes of fuel left. I’d say the plane is at the bottom of the ocean within a 100 mile radius. Perhaps somebody like Paul Allen will go looking for it one day.
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