Chapter 12 Flashcards
The Body Farm
William Bass’s scientific research facility in Knoxville, Tennessee. used to study the decomposition of human
remains.
deciduous teeth
The first temporary that eventually fall out and are
replaced by permanent teeth.
ectocranial
Occurring on the outside of the skull.
endocranial
Occurring on the inside of the skull.
epiphyseal union
The fusion and ossification of the epiphyses (the ends or caps of the long bones) with the rest of the long bone.
Feast of the Dead
A ceremony performed mainly by Iroquoian speakers during the pre-contact and early contact periods. During the ceremony, those who have died and been buried in
temporary graves over the previous 10-15 years are reburied on one site.
femur length formula
A formula for using long bone lengths to estimate the height of the body from which the bone came (length × 2.11 + 70.35).
ForDisc
A computer software package designed to create a reliable profile of a skeleton, including gender, age, and race or ethnicity. Short for forensic discrimination function
analysis.
forensic entomologist
One who studies the relationships between insects and crime scenes, especially dead bodies. Their work
often helps determine how long a body has been dead
for
forensic pathologist
One who studies the soft tissue (e.g. skin, flesh, internal organs) of human remains.
greater sciatic notch
A groove occurring on both hipbones that widens to at least the width of a thumb when females reach puberty
Hamman–Todd collection
A collection of over 3,000 human skeletons started in 1912 by anatomist T. Wingate Todd, housed in the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.
hyoid
A bone that is situated deep in the throat, often examined for signs of death by strangulation.
lead wipe
The smear on a bone that bullets leave when they enter, hit, or graze a bone.
metaphysis
The part of the growing long bone where it begins to widen before it reaches the epiphyseal plate.
permanent teeth
Your second set of teeth, or adult teeth.
pericranium
The periosteum that covers the cranial bones.
pubic symphysis
The false joint at the anterior of the pubic bone.
Suchey-Brooks system
The scale used to calculate age at death based on the morphology of the pubic symphysis, developed by
Alison Brooks and Judy Suchey
Terry Collection
A collection of some 1,728 human skeletons established
by Robert J. Terry (1871-1966) and currently held by the Department of Anthropology of the National Museum of
Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution.
Jobs of a forensic anthropologist
identify the age, sex, race, and cause of death of the
deceased based on bones and teeth. Speculate about the weapons used to kill or injure
Pop culture
forensic anthropology is glamorized by pop culture. Characters in novels and
TV shows are more fiction than fact. Eg TV show bones
Clea Koff
From Kenya, worked for United Nations on two major tribunals investigating cases of genocide in Rwanda and Yugoslavia
Thomas Dwight, Father of American Forensic
Anthropology
known for osteology collection at Warren Museum of Anatomy, Harvard University.
Collection crucial in forensic anthropology, revealing ‘typical’ data for gender, age, and ethnic background.
George A. Dorsey: Sausage Maker’s Wife Case
Luetger, 19th-century Chicago sausage maker, reported second wife missing in 1897, Police searched sausage factory based on brother’s request, found ring and bone fragments.
Dorsey, first anthropologist as expert witness, identified bones as human in court. Dorsey’s testimony led to murder conviction for Luetgert.
Moira McLaughlin “the bone lady”
teaches at St. Thomas University, introduced to forensic anthropology by Dr. William Bass
Works on ‘cold cases’ with RCMP, collaborating with facial imaging experts and investigators.
the bone lady cases
1980: Naked male body found in Gulf of St. Lawrence, remained unidentified and buried.
2003: RCMP exhumed body, conducted skeletal analysis, and completed clay reconstruction.
Case remains unsolved
Clyde Snow and the Angel of Death
Snow, airplane crash expert, joined Oklahoma medical examiner’s office in 1973.
Cases:
Identified Dr. Joseph Mengele in 1979 through characteristics matching and video skull-face superimposition.
Declared exhumed skull as Mengele’s in 1985, later confirmed by dental X-rays and DNA.
Bill Bass Case Study #1
In 1974, Bass was asked to look at a skull found by a boy along a lake
shoreline; he determined that it belonged to a Caucasoid male,
somewhere between 30 and 34 years of age
Bill Bass Case Study #2
Bass’ analyses skeleton found by local
police. it was a 13-year-old girl. The width of the greater sciatic notch suggested female, and the
unfused humeral medial condyle suggested an age less than 18–20.
Bill Bass Case Study #3
In 1991, Bass was presented with a burned skeleton, and determined that it belonged to a young man, 25–30 years of age, with a stature a little
shorter than average
Determining a Body is Human
harder with smaller bone fragments, easier with whole skeleton.
Numbering the Skeletons
- determine how many individual bodies are represented
- necessary for airline
crashes, terror bombings, building fires/explosions, genocides - do this by looking for ‘repeats’ of bones and sorting by age
Sexing the Skeleton
size and robustness of skeleton, DNA testing often required for children
Racing the Skeleton
main indicators found in cranium, look at dental characteristics
sexual dimorphism
Less among East Asians, Aboriginal peoples more among white and black people
Aging the Skeleton
range of ages normally produced. Must achieve consilience. Epiphyseal union is a key to aging a skeleton
Epiphyseal Union method
arm and leg, the innominate, the scapula,
and the clavicle are involved. Analyze the difference between the timing of the proximal and
the distal epiphyseal union. scale of 0–4 to measure the completeness
of epiphyseal union. narrow range is ideal.
Cranial Sutures
bones of the cranium are joined by fibrous joints called sutures. These sutures fuse over time, endocranial closure occurs before ectocranial closure.
For vault sutures, the sagittal closes first, then the coronal suture, and
then the lambdoidal
Todd and Lyon age sequence
has a standard deviation of ± 6 years from actual age. Used to support other findings.
Skeletal Evidence for Child Abuse
Rib fractures without chest trauma, multiple rib fractures close to the spine caused by assailant grasping the chest with both hands.
Metaphyseal injuries and child abuse
common in proximal humerus, knee, and distal tibia
Harris lines
lines are produced
when growth is disrupted, or stops and then resumes. Several areas of subperiosteal new bone formation are a classic
sign of child abuse.
The Case of the Swansea Skull
2004, a skull was found 20 cm below the ground beside a drainpipe that had been installed in 1958 in Swansea, west-end
Toronto. The skull was isolated; there were no more bones of the skeleton, nor was there a mass burial. skull
belonged to an Aboriginal person who lived some time after AD 750. cause of death was infectious disease of the
brain, likely tubercular meningitis.
Robert Pickton Case
2007, Pickton convicted of 6 second-degree murders of women from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Forensic anthropologists
excavated the human remains at Pickton’s pig farm using a conveyor belt and soil sifters to
separate bones from soil.
The CSI Effect
impact, primarily on jurors, of forensic science as
it is presented on the popular shows like CSI. Jurors can be skeptical if evidence does not hold up to the unrealistically
high standards of fictional forensic science.
Argentine Forensic
Anthropology Team
military junta in Argentina committed crimes resulting in disappearance of 20,000 people. FAs excavated mass grave sites, returned the
remains to their relatives, and prosecuted criminals. Led by Clyde Snow.
El Equipo Argentino de Antropologia Forense (EAAF)
a non-governmental
organization dedicated to forensic investigation in human rights cases around
the world. Formed by Snow’s team of graduate students.
