Advertisement Upgrade to remove ads

how many pds of forensic anthro

3, debating 4th

formative period

1800s-1938; concept of forensic anthro was not established, events included Parkman Murder and Leutgert Muder

parkman murder

event in formative pd where a professor Webster was convicted of murdering Parkman who was a physician. anatomists described bones in the furnace and the biological profile, while dentist IDed dentures he made for Parkman

luetgert murder

accused of killing wife in vat of acid, anthropologist concluded that bones were human and female,

consolidation pd

(1939-1972) people start to see the significance in forensic anthropology and develop material to consult

event that bridged from formative pd to consolidation pd

wilton marion krogman publishes "guide to the ID of human skeletal material"

modern period


event that bridged from consolidation to modern pd

Ellis Kerley and Clyde Snow establish division in American Academy of Forensic Science for forensic anthropolgy

roles of a forensic anthropologist

-scene recovery, human vs nonhuman, forensic significance, biological profile, trauma analysis, taphonomy


time since death


study of bone

human skeleton has how many bones


characteristics of bone

living, dynamic tissue, responds to environment and stressors, composed of organic and inorganic component

organic composite in bone


inorganic composite in bone


cortical bone is


trabecular bone is


what part of the bone is the diaphysis

the shaft

what part of the bone is the epiphysis

the cap at the head of the bone

what part of the bone is the metaphysis

flare structure at the end of the diaphysis

where are the growth plates in bones located

btwn the epiphysis and the metaphysis

anatomical position

standing upright with palms forward


towards head, upper cranial


lower, away from head










towards the middle


away from the middle


towards or nearest the pt of origin


away from or farthest from pt of origin

sagittal plane divides

R + L halves

coronal plane divides

front and back halves

transverse plane divides

top and bottom halves

how many bones does the skull have


locate these parts of the skull:

frontal, parietals, temporal, occipital, maxillae, zygomatics, nasals, mandible, sphenoid

cranial skeleton means

the kull

postcranial skeleton means

everything except for the skull

axial skeleton means

the torso and the skull


the appendages

sagittal suture

splits the cranium in half

coronal suture is located where

at the crown of the head

lamboid suture

triangular shape at back of the head that separates the occipital and the parietals

squamosal suture

splits temporal and parietal


uppermost bone of the spinal colomn

foramen mangum

the opening in the rear of the skull through which the spinal chord passes to reach the brain

mastoid process

projection of the temporal bone located behind the ear

nuchal crest

Attachment at the back of the skull for attachment of neck muscles.

supra-orbital ridges


how many permanent teeth


how many deciduous teeth


crown of the tooth

part that is visible above the gum

neck of the tooth

where the crown meets the rest of the tooth

root of the tooth

the part of the tooth embedded in the jaw


flat chisel-like teeth in the front of the mouth

canine teeth

pointed teeth next to the 2nd incisor, aka eye teeth


aka bicuspids, have two cusps and are next to the canine


rectangular chewing teeth rear of the mouth

dental formula for adults


dental formula for children


hardest tissue in the body



towards lip


towards cheek


toward midline


opposite midline

how many cervical vertebrae


how many thoracic vertebrae


how many lumbar vertebrae


how many sacral verebrae


how many coccygeal vertebrae


cervical vertebrae

make up the neck, have transverse foramina

thoracic vertebrae

connect to the ribs

transverse foramina

hole for arteries to supply blood to brain

lumbar vertebrae

largest, carry the most weight

sacral and coccygeal

usually 5 sacral, fuse in adulthood to make sacrum

order of vertebrae


os coxa/innominate


the bones that fuse to make the pelvis

ilium, ischium, and pubis

parts sternum composed of

connects to the clavicle and ribs, made of manubrium, body, and xiphoid process

how many ribs


which ribs are true ribs and why

1-7, because they connect to the sternum

which ribs are false ribs and why

8-10 because they dont articulate with the sternum, only with the cartilage

which ribs are floating ribs and why

11-12 because there is no connection at all to the sternum or cartilage

be able to locate:

sternum, clavicle, scapula, humerus, radius, ulna, femur, carpals, metacarpals, finger phalanges, patella, tibia, fibula, tarsals, metatarsals, foot phalanges

what three main questions are asked when trying to establish forensic significance

bone vs nonbone, human vs nonhuman, contemporary or noncontemporary

how to establish bone vs nonbone

need trained osteologists, determination based on microscopy/elemental composition

how to establish human vs nonhuman

know your osteology-> histological differences, muturity differences, and architectural/morphological differences


study of microscopic structures of tissues, important in fragmentary remains

histological differences in animals vs humans

animals have plexiform bone (banding), humans have haversian bone (osteons)

diffrences between animal and human skulls

humans have larger braincase, reduced nose, enclosed orbit, reduced canines, and fused mandibles

differences btwn epiphyses and diaphyses in humans and animals

in animals they are small and unfused, in humans they are small and fused

evidences of contemporary state of preservation

yellowish white in color, smooth in texture, heavier because of hydration, little fragmentation, not as fragile, more soft tissue

other evidence of contemp vs noncomtemp

body modification, personal belongings, conditions of interment

differences between forensically significant skull and medical specimen?

medical specimens are bleached, varnished, articulated with hardware, polished, have odd sectioning of bone

differences btwn trophy skulls and forensiccally significant ones

commemorative mark/alteration

religious skulls have

tribal art, power,

differences btwn males and females

f apprx 92% size of m, different architecture bc of childbirth

properties of male pelvis

tall and narrow, large and rugges, heart shaped, narrow subpubic angle, pubic bone more triangular, tighter sciatic notch

properties of female pelvis

short and wide, small and gracile, oral inlet, wide subpubic angle, pubic bone more rectangular, wider sciatic notch, preauricular sulcus

preauricular sulcus

a groove under the sciatic notch

sex differences in sacrum

more curves for males, females have flatter and larger base wing index

sex differences in skull

male: sloping in frontal bone, long and wide mastoid process, square mandible, pronounced brow ridge, high and thick zygomatics, marked and rough nuchal lines.....females: vertical frontal bone, short and narrow mastoid process, rounded mandible, smooth browridge, smooth nuchal lines

problems in sex estimation

large range in human variation and mechanisms and processes that produce variation

how do forensic anthrops deal with problems in sex estimation

familiar with range of human variation, experience, skeletal collections

sex estimation for subadults

elevated auricular surface, females mature faster

bergmanns rule

larger animals have a lower SA:Vol ration so that they radiate less body heat

allens rule

shorter appendages are favored in cold climates because they disspate less heat


lineage composing line of genetic dessent


georgraphically and culturally determined collegection who share commmon gene groups

geographic variation

there have never been any pure races

four main groups of ancestry in US

asian/native american, european, african, "hispanic"

most evident biological difference in ancestry are differences in the


ancestry-old school, typology

evaluate expected characteristics

ancestry-new school, frequency values

assess "character states" of a defined trait and statistically evaluate frequency of states in ancestral groups

nasal characteristics of asians (root, bridge, spine, lower border, width)

low ridged root, low bridge, small spine, flat and sharp lower border, medium width

facial traits of asians (profile, shape, eye orbits, lower eye border)

medium profile, wide face, rounded eye orbits, projecting lower eye border

vault traits of asians (browridges, muscle marks, vault sutures, postbregma)

small, smooth, complex, straight

nasal characteristics of blacks (root, bridge, spine, lower border, width)

low and rounded, low, small, guttered, wide

facial traits of blacks )profile, shape, eye orbits, lower eye border)

projecting, narrow, rectangular, receding

vault traits of blacks (browridges, muscle marks, vault sutures, postbregma)

small, smooth, simple, depressed

jaw and dental traits of asians (jaw, palatal shape, upper incisors)

large, elliptical, shoveled

jaw and dental traits of blacks (jaw, palatal shape, upper incisors)

large, hyperbolic, spatulate

nasal characteristics of whites (root, bridge, spine, lower border, width)

high and narrow, high, pronounced, sharp sill, narrow

facial traits of whites (profile, shape, eye orbits, lower eye border)

straight, narrow, angular, receding

vault traits of whites (browridges, muscle marks, vault sutures, postbregma)

heavy, rugged, simple, straight

jaws and dental traits of whites (jaw, palatal shape, upper incisors)

small, parabolic, spatulate

advantages of metric methods

less experience needed, objective, maximizes variable variation, results comfirm visual impressions

disadvantages of metric methods

know how to measure correctly, large refrence samples needed, difficult to use on fragmentary remains

two categories of age are

adult and subadult

differences between determining adult vs subadult age

different techniques used, different body parts used

determining age in subadults

dental charts-teeth develop from the crown down, bone caps-epiphyses) not yet formed, most bones fuse during teen years,

last bone to fuse

medial clavicle (25)

main indicators of adult age estimation

pubic symphyis, auricular surface, sternal rib ends, cranial sutures, palatal sutures, and dental wear

pubic symphysis

where the pubic bones at the front are,

bone modeling


bone remondeling

growth, maintenence and repair


different for different bones

which bones should you use when using histological age estimation

6th rib or anterior femur

problems with histological age estimation

diagenetic changes, variation between elements, hormones and bone health, destructive methods, labor intensive methods

Please allow access to your computer’s microphone to use Voice Recording.

Having trouble? Click here for help.

We can’t access your microphone!



Reload the page to try again!


Press Cmd-0 to reset your zoom

Press Ctrl-0 to reset your zoom


Please upgrade Flash or install Chrome
to use Voice Recording.

For more help, see our troubleshooting page.

Your microphone is muted

For help fixing this issue, see this FAQ.

Star this term

You can study starred terms together

NEW! Voice Recording