1. Notes: Anthropology and Death
Not in the textbook! So pay attention 

2. Anthropology is the scientific study of human development and interaction.
Tools, language, traditions, and social interactions
Forensic Anthropology studies these identifying characteristics on the remains of an individual.
First used to identify remains of WWII soldiers

3. How Bones Connect Bones are held together by:
cartilage—wraps the ends of bones and keeps them from scraping one another.
ligaments—bands that connect two or more bones together.
tendons—connect muscle to bone.

4. Development of Bone Osteology--the study of bones
Osteoblasts: Cells that form new bone
Osteoclasts: Bone cells that break down and remove wastes from bones
Ossification: mineral deposits that aid in the hardening of cartilage
Osteoblasts  Cartilage  Ossification
Throughout life, bones are being broken down, deposited, and replaced.

5. What Bones Can Tell Us…
Osteobiography tells us lots about a person through the study of the skeleton.
The bones of a right-handed person, for example, would be slightly larger than the bones of the left arm.
Record of the physical life.

6. Questions can be Answered Using Forensic Anthropology
Are the remains animal or human?
Are the remains male or female?
What is the age of the victim?
Height of the victim?
What was the manner of death?
What was the cause of death?

7. Animal or Human? Human and animal bones have very different structures
When partial bones are only available, scientists look at the osteons
Osteons are the holes in bones that carry blood
In animals, they form regular patterns
In humans, the patterns are known to be more random

8. Male or Female?
Females have a much wider pelvic bone than males for child-bearing purposes.

9. Male or Female? (Don’t need to write)
Region
Bone
Male
Female
Pelvic
Subpubic angle:
50-82 degrees
90 degrees
Shape of pubis
Triangular pubis
Rectangular pubis
Shape of pelvic cavity:
Heart-shaped
Oval- shaped
Sacral
Sacrum:
Longer, narrower, curved inward
Shorter, broader, curved outward

10. Male Female

11. Female Characteristics
Front View of Skull
Trait
Male Characteristics
Female Characteristics
Shape of Eye:
More square
More rounded
Mandible Shape From Underside:
More V-shaped
Upper Brow Ridge:
Thick and larger
Thin and smaller

12. Male or Female?
Male
Female

13. Side View of Skull: (Don’t need to write)
Trait
Male Characteristics
Female Characteristics
Occipital Protuberance:
Present
Absent
Frontal Bone:
Low and sloping
Higher and more rounded
Surface of Skull:
Rough and bumpy
Smooth
Ramus of Mandible:
Straight
Slanting
Nuchal Crest:

14. Male or Female?

15. Age?
Growth plates called epiphyses form together and eventually unite with age.

16. Age
By about age 30, the lambdoid suture at the back of the skull will have closed.
By about age 32, the sagittal suture running across the top of the skull, back to front, will have closed.
By about age 50, the coronal suture running side to side over the top of the skull, near the front, will have closed.

17. Height
Just as age can be estimated by looking at the bones of the arm and leg, so also can an estimate of height be made.
Often, the approximate height of a person can be calculated from one of the long bones even if just one of those is found.
Gender and race will need to be taken into consideration in making the estimate.

18. You can use the length of the femur to calculate an approximate range of height.
Calculating Height Based on Femur Length:
Male (2.32 x length of the femur in cm.) ± 3.94
Female (2.47 x length of the femur in cm.) ± 3.72

19. Practice Problem: A partial skeleton of a female is found and the femur is measured and found to be 50cm. How tall was this woman?
(2.47 x 50 cm) ± 3.72
= cm
= cm
If you had a conversion table:
Converted to inches: 71.4 inches to 64.4 inches
Divide by 12”
This person would be a female that was 5’9” to 5’4”

20. Racial Characteristics of Bone
Caucasoid
Negroid
Mongoloid
Shape of Eye Orbits
Rounded, somewhat square
Rectangular
Rounded, somewhat circular
Nasal Spine
Prominent spine
Very small spine
Somewhat prominent spine
Nasal Index
<.48
>.53
Prognathism
Straight
Prognathic
Variable
Femur
Fingers fit under curvature of femur
Fingers will not fit under curvature of femur
Fingers will fit under curvature of femur

21. Race?
Caucasoid: Descriptor for people of European, Middle Eastern, and East Indian Descent

22. Race?
Negroid: A descriptor for people of African, Aborigine, and Melanesian decent

23. Race?
Mongoloid:
Descriptor for people of Asian, Native American, and Polynesian descent

24. Facial Reconstruction
Used when traditional methods of identification are not useful
Uses standard tissue thickness and facial muscles to build a new face on a skull
The skull and skeleton gives information about age, race, and gender
Not totally accurate and is more of an art form based in science

25. Facial Reconstruction

26. DNA Evidence
Bone contains little nuclear DNA but it does contain mitochondrial DNA.
This has DNA that is inherited only from the mother.
Long after nuclear DNA has been lost through tissue degeneration, mitochondrial DNA can be obtained from bone.
Results can be compared with living relatives on the mother’s side of the family to identify skeletal remains.