People who live near the Bruce Avenue, where a human skull was discovered Sunday, should not be concerned about any recent criminal activity related to the remains, said the regional supervising coroner for the Sudbury regional office of the Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario.
Dr. David Cameron said the skull, which was discovered with the lower jaw missing, isn't from someone recently deceased. In fact, it could date back as far as a century.
“They (police) are happy based on what we know so far about the skull, examining the site and interviewing neighbours, that there doesn't seem to be any recent criminal activity related to this skull,” he said.
A forensic anthropologist is now looking for signs of aging and weathering on the skull, to try and determine its age.
Cameron said no signs of trauma have been found on the skull so far, which makes it difficult to determine a cause of death.
If the anthropologist can not determine the skull's relative age it could be sent to Toronto for radio carbon dating, which would give experts a better idea how long ago the person died.
Cameron said it might be possible to determine the person's gender and race based on the skull's characteristics.
If the person was of First Nations descent, local First Nations would be contacted to ensure a proper burial in accordance with their culture.
Otherwise, Cameron said a burial will be arranged under the Cemeteries Act.
Cameron said it's not too unusual to find a skull that could be up to 100 years in age.
“There are a lot of people who have been buried out there,” he said, not referring to the specific wooded area where the skull was found.
“In Europe I'm sure this happens all the time,” he added.
