Have we really found Amelia Earhart's bones?

A new study claims that the Nikumaroro Island bones are those of the famous aviator. But some researchers remain skeptical

From the headlines last week, you would think that the Amelia Earhart mystery has finally been solved. A new study published in Forensic Anthropology by Richard Jantz claims that a set of human remains found on Nikumaroro Island are likely the bones of the pioneering aviator. If true, this is an exciting development. As the identification of the remains of Richard III illustrated, solving important historical mysteries is extremely satisfying. But unlike the case of Richard III, not all biological anthropologists are convinced by the evidence identifying this mystery skeleton as Earhart.

Earhart, along with her navigator Fred Noonan, disappeared in 1937 in the midst of their famous attempt to circumnavigate the globe. Despite extensive searches, their plane was never recovered. Of the many theories that exist to explain what happened to them, one of the most persistent is the idea that they ended up stranded, and eventually died, on an uninhabited atoll. Skeletal remains discovered on the island in 1940 along with part of a shoe, a Benedictine bottle, and a sextant box are held up as evidence that she was there.