What Skeletal Remains Can Tell Us

What can be determined from skeletal remains? 1) Sex 2) Race 3) Height 4) Age

Male vs. Female On average, males are about 6% to 10% larger than females

Male vs. Female Sexing Accuracy : 98% a complete skeleton. 95% pelvic bones alone. 90% a skull alone. 80% long bones only (femur).

Pelvis Male vs. Female 1) Broader in females (Due to large birth canal) 2) Pubic arch Triangular (male) vs. Rounded (female)

Male vs. Female Pubic Arch

Brow ridge is more prominent in males Male vs. Female Cranium Brow ridge is more prominent in males What the heck is the brow ridge?

Male or Female?

Cranium Male vs. Female Mandible (Jaw bone): Square in males Rounded in females

Male vs. Female Mandible angle :

Nuchal crest (ledge in back of head) Male vs. Female Cranium Nuchal crest (ledge in back of head) More prominent in males

Cranium Male vs. Female Mastoid process (bone projection behind the ear) -More prominent in males

Crests and ridges more pronounced in males (A, B, C) Determination of Sex Crests and ridges more pronounced in males (A, B, C) Chin significantly more square in males (E) Jaw (I, E), mastoid process wide and robust in males Forehead slopes more in males (F)

Cranium Race Determination Race can only be determined by studying the… Cranium

Mongoloid (all of Asian decent and Native American decent) Determination of Race The cranium is the only reliable bone and, even then, can only tell general category as below: Mongoloid (all of Asian decent and Native American decent) wider cheekbones, concave incisors, width between eyes greatest Negroid (everyone of African decent and West Indian decent) more prominent ridges, wider nasal opening Caucasian (European descent) narrow everything

Caucasoid (European descent) Preferences                                             Search Web News Images Shopping Resources Bloggers &   Webmasters Teachers Librarians Journalists Small Businesses Advertisers WikiAnswers Ask Questions Answer Questions Browse Questions   Wikipedia Image                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Caucasoid Racial type skull                     This work is copyrighted and unlicensed. It does not fall into one of the blanket fair use categories listed at Wikipedia:Fair use#Images or Wikipedia:Fair use#Audio_clips. However, it is believed that the use of this work: To illustrate the object in question Where no free equivalent is available or could be created that would adequately give the same information On the English-language Wikipedia ([1]), hosted on servers in the United States by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation ([2]), qualifies as fair use under United States copyright law. Any other uses of this image, on Wikipedia or elsewhere, may be copyright infringement. See Wikipedia:Fair use and Wikipedia:Copyrights. To the uploader: This tag is not a sufficient claim of fair use. You must also include the source of the work, all available copyright information, and a detailed fair use rationale.    Home     Business     Entertainment     Food     Games     Health     People     Places     Reference     Shopping     Words     More...                                                                                         Tell me about: Home    Webmasters   Sitemap   About    What's new   Help   Advertise   RSS    Copyright © 2007 Answers Corporation. All rights reserved.    Terms of Use Privacy Policy IP Issues Disclaimer This tag should not be used. Instead, use either one of the more specific tags listed at Wikipedia:Image copyright tags/Fair use or {{fairusein|article name}}. From the Western Kentucky University forensic anthropology website. http://www.wku.edu/~darlene.applegate/forensic/lab7/lab7.html           For full information on this image, see its image description page on Wikipedia. Caucasoid (European descent) overall rounded skull, rounded sloping eye orbits, and a tear-shaped nasal opening.

Africoid (African Descent) More Rounded orbits and wide nasal aperture

Mongoloid (Asian Descent) High cheek bones, flat face, and rounded skull

Determining Height How can we determine height? 1) humerus 2) skull 3) femur

Height Circumference of the skull multiplied by 3 Height to circumference of skull 1:3 ratio

Long bone length (femur, tibia, humerus) is proportional to height Determination of Stature from Bones Long bone length (femur, tibia, humerus) is proportional to height There are tables that forensic anthropologists use. For example: Femur length Predicted Height 41 cm 167 cm (5’6”) 50 cm 186 cm (6’1’) Males: (1.88 x femur length in inches) + 32.01 Females: (1.945 x femur length in inches) + 28.70

Height Femur Height to length of femur 1:4 ratio Humerus- formula used on the lab Males: (2.89 x humerus length in cm) + 70.64 Females: (2.79 x humerus length in cm) + 71.48

Determining Age In adults: 1) Studying the teeth: wear and decay 2) symphyseal face of pubis – starts out rough becomes smooth with age

epiphyseal fusion varies with sex and is typically complete by age 25 Determination of Age from Bones Ages 0-5: teeth are best – forensic odontology Ages 6-25: epiphyseal fusion – fusion of bone ends to bone shaft epiphyseal fusion varies with sex and is typically complete by age 25 Ages 25-40: very hard Ages 40+: periodontal disease, arthritis, breakdown of pelvis, occupational stress, unique clues

Epiphyseal Fusion The figures below are of the Epiphyses of the femur or thigh bone (the ball end of the joint, joined by a layer of cartilage). The lines in the illustrated Image 1 show the lines or layers of cartilage between the bone and the epiphyses. The lines are very clear on the bone when a person, either male or female is not out of puberty. In Image 2, you see no visible lines. This person is out of puberty. The epiphyses have fully joined when a person reaches adulthood, closing off the ability to grow taller or in the case of the arms, to grow longer. Figure 2. Figure 1.