Forensic Anthropology “There is a brief but very informative biography of an individual contained within the skeleton, if you know how to read it…” -Clyde Snow, forensic anthropologist

Alphonse Bertillon Father of Anthropometry Developed ID method based on 11 measurements Unreliable – abandoned for fingerprints

Bertillon LAB

I think them be BONES…

What is Bone?

Bone Function 206 bones in an adult human Function of bones: Provides structure and rigidity Protects soft tissue and organs Serves as an attachment for muscles Produces blood cells Serves as a storage area for minerals Can detoxify the body by removing heavy metals and other foreign elements from the blood

Under the Microscope

Anthropologists can use either whole bones or PIECES OF BONE to make the following determinations: An age range Sex Race Approximate height Cause of death, disease, or anomaly

You will be able to: Distinguish between a male and a female skeleton Give an age range after examining unknown remains Describe differences in skull features among the three major racial categories Estimate height by measuring long bones

Bones and landmarks to know: Cranial bones Pubic arch Patella Cranial Sutures Sciatic notch Tibia Mandible Hyoid Fibula Teeth Clavicle Metatarsals Epiphyseal Line/Plate Humorus Tarsals Radius Vertebral column Ulna Sacrum Carpals Coccyx Metacarpals Coxal bones Phalanges Pubic symphysis Femur

Age At birth, humans have approximately 450 bones Bones fuse as we grow The last bone fuses at ~26 YOA There are 206 bones in the adult body

Age Determination Most accurate estimations from: Teeth Epiphyses or growth plates Pubic symphysis Cranial sutures: the three major cranial sutures appear as distinct lines in youth and gradually close from the inside out. Investigators always use an age range because of the variation in people and how they age. The investigator does not want to eliminate any possibilities for identification.

Age Determination Using Cranial Sutures Sagittal suture Sagittal suture completely closed Males—26 or older Female—29 or older Sagittal suture is complete open Male—less than 32 Female—less than 35 Complete closure of all three major sutures Male—over 35 Female—over 50 Lambodial Coronal

Age Determination Using Basilar Suture Technically known as the synchondrosis spheno-occipitalis, closes in females as young as 14 and in males as young as 16. If the suture is open, the individual is generally considered 18 or younger.

Age Determination Using Epiphysis Stage of Union of Medial Clavicle Male Female Non-union without separate epiphysis 21 or younger 20 or younger Non-union with separate epiphysis 16-21 17-20 Partial union 17-30 17-33 Complete union 21 or older 20 or older

Age Determination Using Epiphysis Stage of Union of the Iliac Crest Male Female Non-union without separate epiphysis 16 or younger 11 or younger Non-union with separate epiphysis 13-19 14-15 Partial union 14-23 Complete union 17 or older 18 or older

What else can we learn from bones? DNA samples can be collected from bone, teeth, and hair to provide clues to a person’s identity. Scientists may also be able to gain clues as to a person’s past, recent injuries, or the cause of death based on bone fractures and other signs of trauma. Damage from a hammer Healed Fractures Gunshot Wounds Images: http://www.legacyhealth.org/images/Housecalls/claviclefx.jpg, http://www.sciencephoto.com/images/download_lo_res.html?id=773301768, http://anthropology.si.edu/writteninbone/calvert_femur.html, http://anthropology.si.edu/writteninbone/trauma.html

Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company Facial Restoration http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQaEv5D7Ndo Detective’s Story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_HaJT7OVIQ After determining the sex, age, and race of an individual, facial features can be built upon a skull to assist in identification. Erasers are used to make tissue depths at various points on the skull. Clay is used to build around these markers and facial features are molded. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company

Steps in Facial Reconstruction Model muscles on skull Add fatty tissue around eyes and lacrimal glands Add eyelids Add the nose Add the parotid gland Add the ears Cover all with layers of skin Detail the face With a skull: Establish age, sex and race Plot landmarks for tissue thickness Plot origin and insertion points for muscles Plot landmarks for facial features Select a dataset and mount markers for tissue thickness Mount the eyes Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company

John Emil List “Breeze Knoll” Westfield, NJ Three kids, wife, and mother Late 60s early 70s Nov 9th: Vacation staycation

August 1972, house burnt down – arson unsolved 18 year manhunt "I'm sorry that it all had to end this way but with so little income I just couldn't go on keeping the family together. And I didn't want them to experience poverty." He made the same excuse to Helen's mother, the children's maternal grandmother. He also mentioned that he could not be sure that their souls would remain pure in the future, giving the impression that he believed he had killed them for their own good. To save his own mother from anguish, he had killed her, too. August 1972, house burnt down – arson unsolved 18 year manhunt "I'm sorry that it all had to end this way but with so little income I just couldn't go on keeping the family together. And I didn't want them to experience poverty." He made the same excuse to Helen's mother, the children's maternal grandmother. He also mentioned that he could not be sure that their souls would remain pure in the future, giving the impression that he believed he had killed them for their own good. To save his own mother from anguish, he had killed her, too.

WANDA FLANNERY Tabloids Neighbor Bob Clark

Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company One Final Product John List killed his entire family, moved to a new town and assumed a new identity. Seventeen years later, Frank Bender reconstructed what he believed List would look like. It was shown on America’s Most Wanted, and he was turned in by the viewers almost immediately. . . looking very much like the reconstruction. Check out more about this story on CourtTV’s crime library: www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/family/list/1.html http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6o6stIMtMU Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company

Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company People in the News Bill Bass is a forensic anthropologist who has assisted law enforcement with hundreds of cases. He established the world’s first and only laboratory devoted to the study of human decomposition at the University of Tennessee’s Anthropology Research Facility. It is known as “the body farm.” Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company

Tools of the Trade Tools of Anthropologists

Reading the Remains Watch the video and then answer the questions. What information do they provide for law enforcement agencies? How many skeletons do they have in their collection? What do they learn about a skeleton from each tool? CT Scan – X- ray – Mass spectrometer – Scanning electron microscope – DNA Analysis –

Forensic Tools & Techniques Watch the video and then answer the questions. What techniques or tools did the scientists use to find the body? What is “disturbed soil”? What might it indicate? How did they narrow down the areas to investigate? Did they find a body?

Dirty Bones

How to excavate bones What is the correct procedure for excavating bone? What is the “context” of the bones? What materials are the excavation tools made of? Why is this material used?

Caveman found buried the way females were buried.

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/Bone-Cops.html http://player.ooyala.com/player.js?height=384&width=512&embedCode=Z5YTdwOn2J2QIv7gWJ6XaBLYU7KBy_vT&deepLinkEmbedCode=Z5YTdwOn2J2QIv7gWJ6XaBLYU7KBy_vT