Forensics Anthropology Forensics Anthropology What is Forensics Anthropology

Forensics Anthropology

Forensics Anthropology What is Forensics Anthropology? • Generally speaking forensic anthropology is the examination of human skeletal remains for law enforcement agencies to determine the identity of unidentified bones. • Over the past century anthropologists (those who study human remains) have developed methods to evaluate bones to figure out things about people who lived in the past. • These techniques help them to answer questions about the remains they are studying.

Forensics Anthropology What questions could Forensics Anthropologists ask? • Are the bones human? • Was this person male or female? • How old were they when they died? • How tall were they? • Was the person in good health at the time of death? • Was the person right handed or left handed?

Forensics Anthropology How do Forensics Anthropologist aide law enforcement? • Through the established methods, a forensic anthropologist can aid law enforcement in establishing a profile on the unidentified remains. • The profile includes sex, age, ethnicity, height, length of time since death, and sometimes the evaluation of trauma seen on bones.

Forensics Anthropology Are the bone human? • A human adult has 206 bones. • Since many animal bones look similar to ours, often it takes an anthropologist to determine if the bones in question are human.

Forensics Anthropology • Which is the human femur bone? A Chimpanzee B C Human T-Rex D Great Dane

Forensics Anthropology Was the person male or female? One way to determine the sex is to examine the pelvis. The interior of the pelvis is wider in women. Male The sciatic notch is narrow. Female The sciatic notch is wide. To allow for child birth. It can even be determined how many natural births a woman has had!!!!

Forensics Anthropology The skull is also useful in determining sex. Male Female • Supraorbital Notch (eye socket): softer in women. • Zygomatic Arch (above jaw): prominent in men. • Mandible (jaw) : square for men, soft for women. • Supercilary Arch (eye brow): ridged in men.

Forensics Anthropology How old was the person at time of death? • Teeth – come in at common intervals. • example: wisdom teeth. • Fusion of epiphysis – femur and other long bones. • Clavicle (20 – 30 yrs) – cartilage to bone.

Forensics Anthropology • Pubic Symphysis – Throughout life, the surfaces of the pubic symphysis are worn at a more or less predictable rate. By examining the wear of the pubic symphysis, it is possible to estimate the age of the person at death

Forensics Anthropology • Skull Sutures – Fusing of the skull over time. child adult

Forensics Anthropology How tall was the person? • By using bones we can get a rather accurate estimate of a person height. Female tibia (cm) x 2. 53 + 72. 57 = height (cm) radius (cm) x 3. 87 + 73. 50 = height (cm) Male tibia (cm) x 2. 39 + 81. 68 = height (cm) radius (cm) x 3. 65 + 80. 40 = height (cm) • Example: A 41. 3 cm Caucasoid male tibia was found in a wooded area. How tall was the this person? 41. 3 cm x 2. 39 + 81. 68 = 180 cm (5’-11”)

Forensics Anthropology So, who was the person? • DNA can be taken from bone cells and marrow. • Dental records (odontology) can ID a person. As well as unique bite marks. • Unique breaks and illnesses can be detected from skeletal remains. • Occupation can be reasonable determined. Heavy labor causes bones to become larger. • We can also determine if a person was right or left handed.

Forensics Anthropology Are the bones from a crime? • Look for bullet holes or fractures. • Impressions from weapons are made in bones. stone tool marks on animal bone

Forensics Anthropology Facial Reconstruction Copernicus