Prior to posting this, I had read the various press articles and some of the reviews. I made the decision that it was not for me to comment on the history or politics of the exhumation quest at this stage. Instead, I want to focus on the single most important question regarding the body...
That focus is on just what we might expect to learn from the examination of the remains of whoever it was that they find in the coffin.
There will no doubt be theories and options put forward by various commenters and that's as it should be, but, there is one question that must be answered before they venture down that particular path of exploration.
With regards to the remains to be exhumed, are they of the man examined by Dr. Dwyer who also produced the diagram shown at the head of this post?
There are those who have pronounced the diagram as useless but whether they like it or not, it is primary evidence it was drawn by a professional man who had carried out hundreds of autopsy's and knew his work well.
It is the only piece of evidence that can answer that first question, is this the same man?
If the examination results in a positive match between the teeth found in the skull of the exhumed remains and the diagram drawn by Dr. Dwyer then we have the right body. That being the case then the further question of whether or not the man had the hypodontia condition put forward by Professor Abbot as a link between Robin Tompson and the Somerton Man will also be resolved. Was it hypodontia or just missing teeth as described by Dr. Dwyer?
If however, the teeth pattern of the exhumed remains does not match those shown in the diagram then that would be an entirely different scenario on which the various Somerton Man experts can ponder.
How exciting! I’m not from Australia so I just read this on your blog and then googled it. I didn’t know if they’d ever do it. Hopefully this will answer at least some questions. I’ve heard tooth pulp is a rich source of DNA.
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