Forensic Anthropology and Odontology

Forensic Anthropology study of human skeletal remains to determine sex, age, race, and time and cause of death in an effort to identify an individual includes newer topics of facial reconstruction and age progression “anthros” is Greek for humankind or man, logos means “the study of”

Types of Anthropology Physical Anthropology-A study of primate order past and present, Population genetics and Human evolution including skeletal biology and human adaptation. Cultural Anthropology-Focuses on the study of cultural variation among humans, collecting data about the impact of global economic and political processes on local cultural realities. Linguistic Anthropology-A study of language variation across space and time, The social uses of language, and Relationships between languages and cultures. Archaeology-Study artifact and material remains of human societies. Analyze pollen, soil, seeds and insects found at excavation site. Forensic Anthropology- Forensic anthropology is the examination of human skeletal remains for law enforcement agencies to determine the identity of unidentified bones

Fields within Forensic Anthropology Osteology - specific study of bones. Dentition – study of tooth remains. Ethnobotany – study of pollen and plant remains. Forensic artistry-is a law enforcement artistic technique used in the identification, apprehension, or conviction of wanted persons. Forensic art encompasses several disciplines including composite art, image modification, age progression, post-mortem reconstruction and demonstrative evidence.

What type of information do the bones reveal? .

Information from Bones a. How person lived b. Debilitation illnesses (rickets, polio, healed fractures) c. Right handed or left handed d. Clues to occupation e. Gender f. Age g. Cause of death h. PMI i. Stature J. Race

Education Most forensic anthropologists are specialists in physical anthropology. Work in universities or museums Certification available from the American Board of Forensic Anthropology How many bones are there in the human body?

. Humans are born with about 300 to 350 bones. Many of these bones fuse together between birth and maturity to produce an average adult total of 206 bones. The number of bones in the human body varies according to the counting method used. While some methods consider a given structure to be a single bone with multiple parts, others consider the same structure to be multiple bones. An adult human skeleton consists of 206 bones. These include: - 22 Cranial and Facial Bones - 6 Ear Bones - 1 Throat Bone - 4 Shoulder Bones - 25 Chest Bones - 26 Vertebral Bones - 6 Arm and Forearm bones - 54 Hand Bones - 2 Pelvic Bones - 8 Leg Bones - 52 Foot Bones

Interesting Books to Read

Skeletal anatomy 206 Skeletal Bones (total) 206 bones Man = 12 lbs woman = 10 lbs

Do Now: Human or Non-Human? In 2007, these bones were discovered in rural West Virginia.  Law enforcement agents contacted Smithsonian scientists for help in identifying them. Do you think these bones are human or non-human?  Explain.

Human or Not... these bones are not human. Sometimes, the distinctive adaptations in bone are tricky to spot.  This clawless hind paw of a black bear looks somewhat like a human foot. How do cases like this come to the attention of the police?  When hunters skin bears, they remove the claws with the pelt and leave the feet in the woods, to be found later by hikers or family pets.

Information from skeletal remains Gender of decedent The bones used to determine gender are: Cranium Hip Bone(pelvis) Femur

Information from skeletal remains Gender of decedent ***Create a graphic organizer to demonstrate the differences between male and female skulls Gracile = thin Robust = strong .

Clues Comparison of Paleo-Americans (13,oo years ago) and modern Americans

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2015/01/first-americans/naia-video Inside the lab, archaeologist James C. Chatters analyzes Naia's skull and explains how she's helping scientists better understand what made the first Americans different from people today.

. Information from skeletal remains Sex of decedent MALE OR FEMALE SKELETON? IS FEMALE and (b) IS MALE What are the main differences Between the male and female Pelvis? Sex of decedent .

Information from skeletal remains Sex of decedent . What are the main differences between the male and female femur?

epiphyseal fusion varies with sex and is typically complete by age 25 Determ Determining Age from bones Skeletons are good age markers because teeth and bones mature at fairly predictable rates. For toddlers to teenagers up to age 21, teeth are the most accurate age indicators. Ages 0-5: teeth are best – forensic odontology Ages 6-25: epiphyseal fusion – fusion of bone ends to bone shaft (permanent teeth) 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

A baby's bones begin to grow in the womb A baby's bones begin to grow in the womb. At birth, the skeleton is partially formed. Many bones are still in "parts." The ends (epiphyses) and bony shafts (diaphyses) of long bones form separately in the womb. At birth, the ends of the long bones are mainly cartilage, with centers of bone beginning to form inside. As a child grows, the shafts get longer, and bone gradually replaces the cartilage epiphyses. Through the growing years, a layer of cartilage (the growth plate) separates each epiphyses from the bone shaft. .

Tibia and fibula of a 15 year-old, with partially fused growth plates and a healed fracture with surgical plate on the fibula. .

Craniums of a 20 year-old (left) and a 70 year-old (right). The bones that enclose the brain grow together during childhood along lines called cranial sutures. During adulthood, bone "remodeling" may gradually erase these lines, at variable rates. Closure of cranial sutures gives general information about a person's age. It is best used with additional indicators to estimate age, or when other age indicators are unavailable.

Arthritis on the spine as evidenced by "lipping" of the vertebrae . Wear and tear on a body throughout a lifetime affects the skeleton. Arthritis of the spine and joints can reflect increasing age. Scientists also recognize many other clues to aging, such as the appearance of the rib ends and the cartilage that joins them to the sternum. In a young adult, the rib end walls are thick and smooth, with a scalloped or rounded edge. In an older adult, the walls are thin, with sharp edges, and the rim often has bony, irregular projections.

Age This bone was found in an Incas burial an ground in Peru. Bioarcheologists estimate the age of child and subadult skeletons based on the maturation of the skeleton and the development of the teeth. As seen here, the growth plate (epiphysis) of her shin bone (tibia) has not fused to the long bone shaft. In most populations, these bones fuse between the ages of 13 and 17. This girl was between 14 and 17 years of age when she died—.

Comparison of a 5 yr to a 60 yr old skull.

Age at Death .

Normal Adult Human Teeth How many teeth do adult humans have? What is the average amount of Tooth Fairy money given for a fallen baby tooth? 

How many teeth do adult humans have? 32 What is the average amount of Tooth Fairy money given for a fallen baby tooth?  $1.10

Baby Teeth

Adult Teeth .

Age at Death .

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

Race

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Determination of Stature from Bones Stature estimate 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

Determining Identity from TRAUMA and PATHOLOGIES

Individual Identification Person identified when it was found that the amalgam used in her dental restorations was of a type found only in specific areas on the Eastern Coast of the United States. Habitual activity can wear away the protective, cartilagenous lining which reduces friction in joints. The humerus in this photograph were in contact for many years prior to this individual's death. The surfaces are smooth and shiny, indicating that the joint capsule and cartilage had worn away, allowing bone on bone contact in the cavity.

Individual Identification Dental implants, braces, and other types of dental work are often recovered with a body and are extremely useful in identification because they are so unique to the individual and are well detailed in antemortem radiographs and medical records. Healed fracture on the sternal end of a midthoracic rib. The area within the red brackets is the site of injury. Note the more porous appearance of the bone in this area - this is woven bone.

. Occupational stress wears bones at joints The wire left in bone to repair a fracture may give away the unknown identity Bones . Occupational stress wears bones at joints Surgeries or healed wounds aid in identification

X-rays of Hip replacement .

X-rays of Breast Implants .

X-Ray of Hundreds of Gold Acupuncture Needles in Woman's Knees

Determining Cause of Death Sharp force trauma (bone cut) Blunt force trauma (broken bone) Antemortem vs. postmortem breaks

Sharp force trauma includes:  Incised wounds - caused by any object having a sharp edge. Example: knives and broken glass Stab wounds - which are incised wounds where the length of injury on the surface is less than the depth of penetration into the body. Slash wounds - which are incised wounds that are longer than they are deep. Chop wounds - are caused by implements such as machetes, meat cleavers, swords, axes etc. They are often severe in nature, and can include extensive soft tissue and bone damage.

Blunt Force Trauma Blunt force trauma is a severe traumatic episode caused to the body or head by a blunt instrument used with great force. This can sometimes be caused by an attacker striking out at a victim with their hands, a large piece of wood, a baseball bat or other such item that would cause heavy damage to the body or skull if impacted against them quickly. Contusions - Bruising:- Often a good indicator that there are broken blood vessels beneath the surface of the skin.

Blunt Force Trauma Many of the atypical burials recovered from the Puruchuco cemetery (Lima, Peru) exhibit perimortem (at or around the time of death) trauma to their skulls, which likely caused or contributed to their violent deaths. For this young woman, severe blunt-force trauma caused the fracture to the left side of her skull. In her reconstructed skull, four fractures radiate out from the site of impact, which is also surrounded by concentric fractures. Her skeleton showed no other injuries. The woman obviously received a massive and lethal blow, perhaps from an indigenous stone club.

Facial Reconstruction A sculptor, such as Amy Danning pictured at left, familiar with facial anatomy works with a forensic anthropologist, to interpret skeletal features that reveal the subject's age, sex, and ancestry, and anatomical features like facial asymmetry, evidence of injuries (like a broken nose), or loss of teeth before death. The skull provides clues to personal appearance. The brow ridge, the distance between the eye orbits, the shape of the nasal chamber, the shape and projection of the nasal bones, the chin's form, and the overall profile of the facial bones all determine facial features in life.

Facial Reconstruction 1. Obtain skull Determine demographic information (female, Caucasian, early 40s) Note unique features (had lost all back teeth on upper and lower jaw) Anything known about this individual? (came to U.S. by boat in 1710 from Europe, died and buried in NY around 1733)

3. Begin to add common fat deposits and underlying muscles Facial Reconstruction Add tissue depth markers Based on largely on sex and race 3. Begin to add common fat deposits and underlying muscles

Facial Reconstruction 4. Add muscle to average depth for race 5. Add skin, nose, ears 6. Add features related to age and race (wrinkles, eye and hair color)

Facial Reconstruction 7. Add clothing etc appropriate for the time period, religious affiliations, etc

Forensic Odontology identification of bite marks on victims comparison of bite marks with teeth of a suspect identification of unknown bodies through dental records age estimations of skeletal remains victim identification through DNA analysis

Physical Characteristics Forensic Odontology – Bite Marks Physical Characteristics distance from cuspid to cuspid tooth alignment teeth width, thickness, spacing missing teeth wear patterns including chips and grinding dental history including fillings, crowns, etc.