1. FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY
4/12/2017
FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY

2. FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY
Hic locus est ubi mortui viveuntes docent.
This is the place where the dead teach the living.

3. FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY
Forensic Anthropology combines the disciplines of anthropology and osteology; the study of bones.
A forensic anthropologist will frequently work with odontologists, pathologists and investigators to make determinations about skeletal remains.

4. The Requirements
A forensic anthropologist provides basic identification of skeletonized or badly decomposed remains.
Once an object is identified as a bone, the scientist may be able to determine:
Human vs. Non-human
Age
Gender
Race
Height

5. The Process
First, the forensic anthropologist must determine if the remains are bones.
Wood fragments, stones, pottery pieces or plastics are often mistaken for bones.

6. The First Determination - Are the bones human?
Once the remains are verified as bone, the examiner must determine if the bones are human.
Although, many human and non human bones look similar, there are a few very distinct differences.

7. The Skull The skull is very different between humans and non-humans.
The eye orbits are located at the front in humans, on the side for non-humans.
The mandible is U-shaped in humans and V-shaped in non-humans.
Humans have a chin.
Humans have a larger brain cavity.

8. The Skull
HUMAN
CAVE BEAR

9. Bones of the Body The upper limbs are less robust in a human.
The human pelvis is wide, short and bowl-shaped. A non-human pelvis is long, narrow and blade-shaped.
The arm and leg bones in humans are separate while in non-humans they are often fused.

10. The Pelvis

11. Age Determination – The Next Step
At birth the human body has approximately 350 bones.
Many of these bones fuse and the adult human body has 206 bones.
The number of bones found at the scene may help with an age range determination.

12. Age* Determination – The Next Step
Most accurate estimations use:
Teeth
Epiphyses or growth plates
Sutures: Cranial and Basilar
There are three major cranial sutures that 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.

13. Age Determination- Teeth
The first set of teeth erupt between 6 months and 3 years.
There are 22 “baby” teeth.
Between the ages of 6 years and 21 years, permanent teeth erupt.
There are 32 permanent teeth.
The investigator will have to determine which set of teeth are present in the skull.

14. Age Determination - Epiphysis
An epiphysis is the growth plate area at the end of the long bone. These areas close or fuse at different ages.
For females, fusion is complete between years.
For males, fusion is complete between years.

15. An Infant or Fetal Skull
An infant skull has spaces, or soft spots, between the bone plates.
Sutures form where these bones fuse together.

16. Age Determination – Cranial Sutures
There are three major cranial sutures that appear as distinct lines in youth and gradually close from the inside out.

17. Age Determination - Cranial Sutures
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
Sagittal suture
Lambodial
Coronal

18. Age Determination – Basilar Suture
The basilar suture is located in the roof of the mouth.
It 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.

19. The Next Step in the Process is Gender Determination
The most important bone needed for gender determination is the pelvis.

20. Gender Differences in Bones
The pelvis of the female is wider. Males have a narrow subpubic angle (A) and a narrow pubic bone body (B).

21. Male Female
Sub Pubic Angle

22. Gender Differences in Bones
The ribcage and shoulders of males are generally wider and larger than that of females. In addition, about one person in twenty has an extra rib. This is more common in males than in females.

23. Male vs Female Skull
The female skull is usually more rounded with a less pronounced forehead.
Males have more pronounced upper eye orbit and upper cheek bone (zygomatic process).
Males have a more squared or U-shaped lower jaw. Females have more rounded or V-shaped lower jaws (mandibles).

24. Gender Differences in Bones
4/12/2017
Although occurring less frequently, in males the index, or first, finger is usually shorter than the third finger. In females, the first finger is longer than the third finger.
Is this a male or female hand
according to the above rule?

25. Determination of Race
Race is difficult to determine from most skeletal remains, especially since there are no pure races.
However, an experienced forensic anthropologist can generally place skulls into one of three historic groups:
Caucasoids – European, Middle Eastern and East Indian Descent
Negroids – African, Aborigine and Melanesian descent
Mongoloids – Asian, Native American and Polynesian descent

26. Race Characteristics
Caucasoids—have a long, narrow nasal aperture, a triangular palate, oval orbits, narrow zygomatic arches and narrow mandibles.
Negroids—have a wide nasal aperture, a rectangular palate, square orbits, and more pronounced zygomatic arches. The long bones are longer, have less curvature and greater density.
Mongoloids—have a more rounded nasal aperture, a parabolic palate, rounded orbits, wide zygomatic arches and more pointed mandibles.

27. Racial Differences What differences do you notice between these three skulls? Could you tell each race?

28. Last Determination - Human Stature
Height of a person can be calculated by using the length of certain bones, including the femur, tibia, humerus, and/or radius.
Below are the general formulas (in cm) for both male and female. There are more specific charts if the race of the individual is known.
Male Female
femur x femur x
tibia x tibia x
humerus x humerus x
radius x radius x

29. Facial Restoration
After determining the sex, age, and race of an individual, facial features can be built upon a skull to assist in identification. Markers 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.

30. Steps in Facial Reconstruction
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
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

31. Anthropologist at Work
This anthropologist is
hard at work dusting
away material from
these imbedded bones.
Picture taken at
Chicago’s Museum
of Natural History

32. Animal Facial Restoration
Determining what T Rex looked like using the bone formation.
From this: To this:

33. Animal Structure and Function
Beaver jaw with the end results seen on the log.

34. Other Bone Identification
Forensic experts may be called upon to determine the life and death of humans and animals in unique circumstances, including:
Mass Murder (Oklahoma bombing, plane crashes, World Trade)
Earlier man (mummies, Iceman, Lindow man)
Historical Significance (Holocaust, uncertain death of famous people)
Prehistoric Animals (Dinosaurs)