Forensic Anthropology

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

Determination of Sex Pelvis best

Determination of Sex Pelvis best females have wider subpubic angle females have a broad pelvic inlet

Determination of Sex Cranium second best 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)

Determination of Sex Other bones are not usually as good an indicator regarding sex

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

White, Asian, African From: Beyers, S.N. (2005). Introduction to Forensic Anthropology

Nasal Silling and Guttering

General Shapes of the Eye Orbits

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

Determination of Age from Bones Occupational stress wears bones at joints Surgeries or healed wounds aid in identification

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

Dating Human Skeletal Remains Under the right conditions, bodies can be reduced to a skeleton in as little as three weeks Laboratory Tests Immunology tests can indicate if body is a few months old or less Blood pigments last less than 10 years Identification of amino acids possible if less than 100 yrs old (fluorescence) Percentage of nitrogen in bones (new is about 4.5%) – bones lose about 0.006% a year Carbon dating for bones centuries old

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

The Iceman http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA3AiNup7fY

Lab: the bones we’re interested in Skull Lab: the bones we’re interested in