Forensic Anthropology Flashcards
When does the adult skeleton begin degenerating?
As soon as it has completed growth
Epiphyseal fusion is used to estimate:
Age in subadults
Subadult sex estimation is not recommended for which reason?
Sexual dimorphism does not manifest significantly until puberty
What belongs to a biological profile?
Ancestry
Biological age
Sex
Stature
How many bones are in the human body?
206
What is MNI?
Minimum number of individuals
Adult male and female skeletons differ in both general size and shape, related to:
Different musculature and functional requirements
What do forensic anthropologist do?
Apply standard scientific techniques to analyse human remains and to assist in the detection of crime
What type of cases are forensic anthropologists involved in?
- recent homicides
- mass disasters (disaster victim identification)
- international human rights
- age estimation in the living
What are the 3 questions a forensic anthropologist must ask when they find remains?
- Is it bone?
- Are the remains human?
- How many individuals are represented
What are the landmarks in bone used for?
- MNI counts
- measurements
- age estimation
- sexual dimorphism
- trauma/pathology
What makes up a biological profile?
- sex
- age
- ancestry
- stature
What are the secondary factors of a biological profile?
- trauma
- pathology
- individuating characteristics
What are the 2 broad categories of sex determination methods?
- Visual (non-metric) Assessment of morphological features
2. Linear (metric) measurements and statistical analysis
Most accurate age estimations are made…….
When the skeleton is still growing
What is the most accurate marker of age in subadults?
- teeth
- epiphyseal fusion is next best
- bone length is least accurate as it is susceptible to environmental factors
Stages of epiphyseal union
- open: before 12 years
- partial union: 12-14 years
- complete union: 15-20 years
What is an issue with using stature as a biological marker?
Self-reported height data is often inaccurate
Secondary factors: disease
- acute
- systemic
Secondary factors: individuating characteristics
- non-metric traits (abnormalities)
- handedness
- parity status
- musculoskeletal stress markers
Secondary factors: trauma
- antemortem
- perimortem
What are acute diseases?
Severe and sudden in onset, usually secondary to trauma
What are chronic diseases?
Conditions that are long-developing
Characteristics of antemortem trauma
- shows evidence of a physiological response
- wound healed, healing or responding to infection
- useful for the identification process
Perimortem trauma characteristics
- injury that occurs ‘around’ the time of death
- edges are sharp and show no signs of healing
- should be clear that damage occurred in fresh (not dry) bone
- may provide valuable information about circumstances surrounding death
