Doug Owsley is the curator of the department of anthropology, skeletal biology, and forensic anthropology at the Smithsonian Institution. He has helped to solve many mysteries such as identifying unknown skeletons in mass graves in Croatia and to help figure out historical puzzles surrounding bones dug up from ancient cemeteries. Currently, he is working on the bones of Civil War soldiers whose remains were discovered recently in Centreville, VA, not far from the Battle of Bull Run. 

     Bones can tell an enormous amount of information, including age, race, sex, and possibly cause of death. Once certain details are taken, Owsley can cross-reference historians to help identify who the person was. Owsley frequently works with historians, archaeologists, FBI agents, and police and scientists with expertise in everything from botany to soil. Being in the Washington area, he can work with many of the world's most renowned scientists. "The work on historical burials", Owsley says, "is beginning to answer questions that you simply won't find in the history books.'' "Most people don't know what you can learn from bones,'' he says, "and it's just incredible. They'll speak volumes to you if you know how to read them." 

Anita Manning. "Smithsonian knows the truth in his bones." USA Today, June 24, 1997.