Human vs Nonhuman Flashcards
animal bones
- Thick cortical bone (outer layer)
- Sharp transition between cortical and cancellous
- Dense w/ thin cavity in the middle
- Plexiform bone and Haversian bone
human bones
- Thinner cortical
- Poor boundary between cortical and cancellous
- NO plexiform ever, have Haversian
plexiform
horizontal, brick-like structure, non-human, rectangular, cannot complete maintenance repairs but can repair a fracture, harder to damage
Haversian system
irregular circles, human and non-human, usually in creatures who live long and need to make many repairs
how do you tell the difference between child bones and small animal bones?
- To tell between small animal bones and childrens bones: assess maturity, fusing of the bone ends
- Juvenile humans have unfused epiphyses, adult mammals have fused epiphyses
what percentage of cases are brought into forensic anthropologists that are not human bones?
25-30%
what should you consider when trying to determine what a bone is?
Structure/histology, maturity (development), and architecture (morphology)
child vs animal bones
To tell between small animal bones and childrens bones: assess maturity, fusing of the bone ends
Juvenile humans have unfused epiphyses, adult mammals have fused epiphyses
biped
only humans, bones specialized for bipedal stance
quadruped
most mammals, all share similar architecture for 4 legged stance
human vertebrae
increase in size from cranial to caudal, short spinous processes, 3 curves in back (have 3rd curve in lower back)
non-human vertebrae
stays the same size, long spinous processes, 2 curves (in neck and ribcage)
human ribs
curved, flat ribs
nonhuman ribs
straight and round
human pelvis
bowl-shaped, curved and short ilia
