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Forensic team outlines lab work, inventory and radiography in Tulsa Race Massacre investigation
Summary
Phoebe Stubblefield, lead forensic anthropologist for the CA Pound Human Identification Lab, described lab radiography, tray-based storage, artifact recovery and recordkeeping practices for remains recovered from Oak Lawn excavations related to the Tulsa Race Massacre investigation.
Phoebe Stubblefield, the lead forensic anthropologist for the CA Pound Human Identification Lab at the University of Florida, offered a detailed tour of the osteology lab used in the Tulsa Race Massacre investigation, describing radiography, processing and storage practices.
Stubblefield said the lab uses a CR scanner system to X-ray remains and identify features related to cause of death (such as bullet fragments) and funerary artifacts (pins, buttons, casket plates and nails). "The x-ray is shortening considerably some of our time spent picking through the soil to get at the features associated with that decedent's casket..." she said.
She described handling procedures: each recovered burial is processed on its own tray and table to avoid mingling, skeletal elements are inventoried and repaired when feasible, and artifacts are catalogued. The lab uses a mix of paper and digital records and has a tray storage system designed to hold trays until pre‑reinterment storage is ready.
Stubblefield directed viewers to a city website with additional resources and historical documents: cityoftulsa.org/1921graves. The transcript did not include discussion of reinterment timelines or legal authorizations beyond the lab-process description.
