Forensic Anthropology

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Forensic Anthropology

• By J. Dickens

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What does a forensic anthropologist do?

• Tries to id decomposed or mutilated bodies and
  analyze skeletal remains
• Determines if bones are human or not
• What is the age, sex, race?
• What is the COD?

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Terms

• Ossification is the formation of bone by the
  activity of osteoblasts and minerals.
• Tuberosity is the knot on the side of the elbow
• Taphonomy is the study of changes to biological
  organisms between death discovery

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Changes with age

• The epiphyses are the growing end of long bones.
  They are soft and cartilaginous during the
  growing period but gradually harden into solid
  bone and fuse with the main shaft of the bone as
  adulthood is reached.

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Changes come with age

• 17-20 yo- bones of upper limbs becoming
  completely ossified
• 18-23 yo bones of lower limbs becoming completely
  ossified
• 23-25 yo bone of the sternum, clavicles, and
  vertebrae become completely ossified
• Female aging of the skeleton is usually about 1
  year ahead of the male

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Skulls

• Sutures are at the top of the skull
• Infants have large gaps. These gaps close up
  after the age of 30. This fusing process occurs
  in a particular sequence beginning from the
  inside of the skull and working outwards
• Complete absence of closure indicates that the
  skeleton is less than 30 yo

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Female VS Male Skull

• Less pronounced muscle attachment
• Less pronounced ridge
• globular frontal bone
• shallow palate

• More pronounced muscle attachment
• more pronounced ridge
• slanting frontal bone
• deep palate

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Face

• Females have less sloping mid-foreheads, more
  pointed nose, smaller, more rounded chin, smaller
  teeth

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• A) Male cranial mass more blocky massive
• B)Male temporal ridge is more square shaped and
  prominent
• C) female supraorbital margin is sharper, males
  is round dull (above eyes)
• D Zygomatic bone more pronounced in males

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• E) Mandible of female is rounded, male square
• F) Male forehead (frontal bone) is more slopping
  lower
• G) Male has a deeper cranial mass
• H) Supercilary arch is larger and more pronounced
  in men

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• I) Males gonion most posterior inferior point on
  angle of mandibleis more flared out and sharply
  angled
• J) Teeth larger in males

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Pelvic Cavity

• In the female the upper end of the pelvis is
  tilted forward, the sacrum is shorter wider
  with less curvature, coccyx is more movable
  tilted backward, width of pelvis is greater, more
  spacious. It has an oval to round shape while the
  mans is more heart shaped
• Pubic arch is greater than 100 degrees

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Vitruvian Man

• Palm is width of 4 fingers
• foot is the width of 4 palms
• length of a mans outspread arms is to his
  height
• hairline to bottom of chin is 1/10 height
• height 4 cubits or 24 palms
• elbow to tip of hand is 1/5 height

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Porportions Cont.

• Length of hand is 1/10 height
• bottom of chin to nose is 1/3 length of face
• hairline to eyebrows is 1/3 length of face
• length of ear is 1/3 length of face

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More ratios

• Foot to height divide the length of a persons
  left foot by height, multiply by 100 Results
  should be about 15.. Length of foot is
  approximately 15 of height
• height in inches(1.880 X femur length) 32.010
  Males for females height in inches (1.945 X
  femur length) 28.679

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