Estimating Stature

Question 1

What is the final component of the biological profile?

Answer 1

stature

Question 2

What five elements is stature composed of?

Answer 2

1. skull
2. vertebral column
3. pelvis
4. lower limb
5. ankle

Question 3

Who was the first to estimate stature from a skeleton?

Answer 3

Thomas Dwight

Question 4

How did Dwight first estimate stature?

Answer 4

layed out all the bones, stuck them together with clay, measured

Question 5

Are cadaver length and living height the same?

Answer 5

no, decomposition impacts soft tissue and can lead to under/over estimation

Question 6

Who was the Full Skeleton Method developed by?

Answer 6

George Fully

Question 7

Describe the Full Skeleton Method

Answer 7

measure the bones of the skull, vertebrae, femur, and tibia and use an equation to estimate height

Question 8

What are the two equations used in the Full Skeleton Method?

Answer 8

1. 11.7 + 0.996(sum of skeleton)
2. 12.1 + 1.009(sum of skeleton) - 0.0426(age)

Question 9

What is the most popular method for estimating stature?

Answer 9

Long Limb Bone Method

Question 10

Who was the long limb bone method developed by?

Answer 10

Trotter & Glasser (1952, 1958)

Question 11

TRUE or FALSE: lengths of long limbs are highly correlated to stature

Answer 11

TRUE (they make up a big proportion of height)

Question 12

TRUE or FALSE: the height of the body’s left & right sides are correlated

Answer 12

TRUE

Question 13

TRUE or FALSE: the lengths of different bones within the same individual are not correlated

Answer 13

FALSE

Question 14

TRUE or FALSE: stature estimations should be independent of sex and population considerations

Answer 14

FASLE

Question 15

Why does population impact stature?

Answer 15

childhood stress and nutrition can greatly impact growth potental

Question 16

TRUE or FALSE: the accuracy of stature estimates increase with the number of bones used

Answer 16

TRUE (true to a point because after ~3, bones stop being helpful and can increase human error)

Question 17

What three other bones (besides long bones) can be used to measure stature?

Answer 17

metacarpals, metatarsals, and the vertebral column

Question 18

What is the least preferred method of estimating stature?

Answer 18

partial long limb bones

Question 19

Can FORDISC be used to measure height?

Answer 19

Yes! (commonly the lengths of the femur and clavicle are inputted)

Question 20

What are three considerations to keep in mind when do stature estimations?

Answer 20

1. age of individual
2. bone shrinkage
3. reported vs measured stature

Question 21

Does FORDISC consider age when making a stature estimation?

Answer 21

No :(