NEW Final Flashcards
Many animal bones are the same size as young children and morphologically similar to human bones. Nonhuman bones can be distinguished from human infants and children by osteological maturity. Fully mature small bones are nonhuman, because they would not be mature in human children
Maturity in human vs nonhuman
Differentiating between human and nonhuman bones of equal size is difficult. Similar anatomy and a diverse number of animals, hoofed, felines, and dogs.
Architectural differences
Prominent braincase, lack of snout, small teeth.
Human cranial skeleton
Not fully protected eye sockets. Zygomatic arch oriented differently. Larger snout, bigger teeth. Difference in nasal bones. Oriented horizontally
Nonhuman cranial skeleton
Vertebral column very different in thoracic and cervical, but not lumbar. Os coxae much longer, scapula’s glenoid fossa more restricted. Ribcage similar
Axial skeleton nonhuman
Forelimbs and hind limbs instead of arms and legs. Humerus has different proportions. Femur different curvature
Nonhuman appendicular skeleton
Metacarpal bones of quadrupeds. Different bones than humans, looks like long bones. Diagnostic ends to them. Hind bones in cats
Metapodials
Refers tot he visible and measurable characteristics of the bones. What do they look like? Fresh or old bones
State of preservation
State of preservation, fresh bone is yellowish-white. After stout tissue decomposes, takes on a whitish color. Bone can also bleach, discolor due to soil. Generally takes a number of years for these color changes to occur
Color
Color in state of preservation, greasy and smooth appearance. Some soft tissue
Modern faunal bone
Color in state of preservation, whiter, no soft tissue.
Non contemporary bone
State of preservation, recent bone is smooth like ivory. The longer the bone is exposed to the elements, bone becomes more grainy and pitted. Age of individual at death can also affect smoothness
Texture
State of preservation, body fluids give bone yellowish color and greasy feel while in body. Non contemporary bones will appear dry and porous because water evaporates over time
Hydration
State of preservation. Recent bones tend to be heavy because of fats and fluids.
Weight
Weight state of preservation. Loss of calcium and other minerals occurs over time. Results in bones feeling lighter
Decalcification
State of preservation, contemporary bones tend to be whole with little fragmentation. Non contemporary tend to be semi to highly fragmented.
Condition
State of preservation, contemporary bones are strong and tough. Non contemporary appear breakable
Fragility
State of preservation, non contemporary dark, rough, dry, light, broken, fragile, absent. Contemporary light, smooth, wet, heavy, solid, tough, present
Decision table
Common forms of non contemporary types are cranial modification and dental modification
Body modifications
Body modification. Purposeful reshaping of the skull, anteroposterior modification. Soon after birth, skull is bound
Cranial modification
Carved teeth, drilled with gems. Body modification
Dental modification
Fillings, prosthetics.
Contemporary body modification
Item found alongside burial can provide important clues. Like the ice man, thought to be a modern hiker until clothes were dated to 3400 BCE
Personal belongings
People who have died under normal circumstances have a formal burial. In forensic cases, bodies are disposed of without care. Tightly flexed vs semi flexed vs extended
Conditions of internment
If something is below the ground. Detectors, dogs. Locating remains
Subsurface techniques
Sometimes we can see things from above better. Drone, helicopter. Locating remains
Aerial techniques
Group of searchers systematically walk the landscape for clues. Emphasis placed on locating skeletal materials. Line up six feet apart, walk in a particular direction swiveling head back and forth, flag anything significant. Locating remains
Ground search
Scatter of body parts is critical to reconstructing
Mapping remains
Time of death with mapping remains
Carnivore activity
Cause is what killed them, manner is what ultimately makes the heart stop beating
Cause and manner of death
A fixed starting point of scale or operation. Permanent structure, boulders, trees. Mapping remains
Datum
A square constructed on four wooden posts and string, usually oriented to cardinal direction. Mapping remains
Grid square
Taking the soil and putting it through a screen to sift. Looking for fragments, teeth, fabric, etc. Excavation
Screening
Mixed up soil, not naturally formed. May be evidence above the body. Excavation
Stratigraphy
Everything must be labeled. History of who handled the remains must be kept. Chain of custody. Record detailing recovery process.
Collection and transport of remains
From date, time, and weather, to participants and any other relevant info.
Record detailing recovery process
Separate right and left upper limbs and lower limbs and bag separately. vertebrae can be labeled with pencil and types bagged separately. Skull should be handled by brain case. Keep unfused epiphyses with associated bones. Watch for fetal bones, sesamoid bones, small objects.
For disarticulated remains
The degeneration of body tissues by the digestive fluids normally residing in the intestinal track
Autolysis
Microorganisms residing in body tissue begin to break down biological components. Eat away at soft tissue, side effect is the release of gasses that bloat the body. Flies are attracted to the body and deposit eggs. Also body at this state attracts large animals
Putrefaction
Temperature, humidity, accessibility. Trauma and placement are key
Environment
Estimated by knowing the time needed by the body to reach stages of deterioration from fresh to fully skeletonized
Postmortem interval
Large range of variation in time to reach various stages of decomposition. Most schedules of decomposition are based on surface finds. Descriptions of changes are drawn from all times of year
Climatic factors
By knowing the amount of time needed for scavenging to occur on human samples from known forensic ashes, time since death can be estimated
Animal scavenging
The study of insects as related to the medico-legal investigation of death. Observation of different life stages of attendant insects. Seasonal information
Forensic entomology
Studying the decay rate of non biological materials to estimate PMI
Deterioration of clothing and other materials
On average, men are larger and more robust than females. Pelvic morphology reflects need for childbearing.
Size and architecture
When using pelvis, skull, and long bones, accuracy ranges from 90-100%. 90-95 when just pelvis, 80-90 for skull, 80 when long bones
Accuracy
Overall wider and lower than male pelvis. Pelvis inlet is circular or elliptical in females. female sacrum is short and broad
Female pelvis
Taller and narrower than the female pelvis. Inlet is heart shaped in males. Male sacrum is long and narrow
Male pelvis
At the pubic symphysis of the os coxae. Inferior and anterior. Extra ridge of bone almost as if the bone next to the pubic symphysis has been ripped. Present in females
Ventral arc
Anterior, inferior. Shape of angle obtuse for female and acute for male
Subpubic concavity
Where the two parts of os coxae one together. Sharp and thin in females, rounded and thick in males.
Ischiopubic ramus ridge
Degree to which the sulcus is present, inferior to auricular surface.
Preauricular surface
Wider and greater in females, narrow in males.
Sciatic notch
How thick, wide, and down? Robust in males
Mastoidal process
More robust and projected in males, delicate in females
Nuchal crest
Narrow and sharp in females, rounded and thick in males
Supraorbital margin
Degree to which the bone is pronounced right above the nose. Flat in females, projected in males
Glabella
More pronounced, robust, squarer chins than females.
Mental eminence
Epiphyseal union, union of primary ossification centers, dental eruption
Age estimation
Degenerative markers, pubic symphysis, auricular surface, cranial suture closure, dental wear, Premortem tooth loss, osteoarthritis
Mature remains
Arms, legs, toes, hands all begin with a primary ossification center/diaphysis. Epiphysis and diaphysis have a growth plate in between
Long bones in juveniles
Pelvis, vertebrae. Os coxae form from three individual bones and fuse together over childhood. Same idea for body and centrum in vertebrae
Union of primary ossification centers in juveniles
Most develop primary and permanent teeth at the same time
Dental eruption in juveniles
Changes to the pubic symphyseal face, a lot of age related changes. Smooth versus porous. Todd estimation versus suchey brooks estimation
Pubic symphysis in adults
Ear shaped surface that articulates os coxae with sacrum. Change to the freshness of bone over time. Subtle, younger persons is puffy
Auricular surface of the ilium
Open with no evidence of closure (0) versus complete fusion (3)
Cranial suture closure
Only works if you compare people from the same population, diets, class, etc
premortem tooth loss and dental decay
Cartilage begins to wear away
Osteoarthritis
White, black, Asian, Native American, Hispanic
Law enforcement racial groupings
A standard for methodology submitted in a court of law. has the technique been tested, subjected to peer review, known error rate, standards, acceptance
Daubert standard
The traits we use to estimate ancestry are best observed in mature adults with the exception of teeth. Most are based on skull
Ancestry in a medico legal context
Visual differences, continuous, qualitative. Based on skull, qualitative assessments, only really info for white, black, Asian
Anthroposopy
Measurable differences, discreet, quantitative
Osteometry
Root, bridge, spine, lower border, nasal opening
The nose
Jaws vary by ancestral group with blacks having larger jaws than whites or Asians. In white and black, face tends to be narrow while Asians tends to be wide. Whites angular eye orbits, blacks rectangular, Asians round. Asians have a projecting lower border of the eye
The face
Whites tend to have well developed brow ridges and muscle markings. Complex sutral lines in Asians. Blacks have slight concavity in their profile at Bergman area is flat or relatively convex in whites and Asians .
The vault
Shovel faced in Asian and native Americans, spatulate in whites and blacks. rounded dental arch in Asians, hyperbolic black, parabolic white.
Teeth
Results tend to be significantly less reliable than skull. Blacks tend to have straight femurs, whites and Asians curve anteriorly. Black postcranial skeletons tend to be gracile, whites robust
Postcranial skeleton
Disease
Pathology
New bone forming, porous. Much more recent
Woven bone
Woven bone done healing, same color as woven bone, indication of bone being injured once and healing. Irregular and heavy
Lamellar bone
Single lesion, multiple lesions, location of lesions. Diseases like cancer. If edges are sharp, recent, if round, healing.
Bone destruction
Shape of bone can be affected by disease, more bowed due to weakness
Vitamin D deficiency
Malnourished child can disrupt teeth formation and create pits/lines. lesions in orbital eye socket, thin porosity. childhood diseases but signs retained in adulthood
Signs of stress.
Spurs around margins to prop vertebrae up. osteocytes (spurs) can get so big that vertebrae fuse together. Similar in long bones
Joint disease
Prior to death. Well healed, can be hard to make out
Antemortem
Around time of death. Edges ragged
Perimortem
After death, fractured edges are colored from bone, shininess showing inflicted when bone was still fresh
Postmortem
Lesions result of overactive osteoclastic activity and under active osteoblastic activity
Cancerous lesions
Markers of arrested enamel growth due to poor nutrition or disease, lines on teeth
Dental hypoplasia
Porosity on superior part of eye orbits just beneath brow ridge. Expansion of bone marrow caused by iron deficiency or parasitic infection. Most live through it and lesions are still present in adulthood
Cribra orbitalia
Creates new bones around edges to prevent bone on bone contact
Arthritis and disc degeneration
Dental caries (tooth decay), bacterium metabolizes sugar, producing acid which erodes enamel and dentine
Dental disease
Gaps can still be present, but healed with no sharp edges. Could be in the process of healing. Can be visible, some parts of the injury remodeled but some sharp edges still present. Fracture smoothly healed over
Antemortem fractures
Porosity near the breaks as opposed to smooth cortical bone. Rounding of edges of the break. Callus present
Antemortem trauma
Irregular shape, disorganized surface, raised above surrounding area. Sign of antemortem trauma
Callus
An injury caused to living tissue by an outside force. Bludgeons, projectiles, cutting, or chopping instruments. Large objects, chemicals, heat/cold
Trauma
What factors lead to death? Forensic anthropologists evaluate trauma to the bone as a potential cause of death. Consistent with a certain cause of death
Cause of death
The way a person died. Homicide, suicide, accident, natural, unknown
Manner of death
Discontinuity, surfaces that were once continuous no longer meet or meet at an angle
Displacement
Discontinuity, usually originate near the point of impact where they help to dissipate the impact across bone surface. Radiating lines (outward) vs hoop lines (rings)
Fracture lines
Healing, pool of blood that helps stabilize bone after break
Hematoma
Force that pulls on a bone, usually along the long axis. Horizontal fracture. Direction
Tension
Force that pushes down on bone. Diagonal fracture. Direction
Compression
Force that impacts the side of the bone at a right angle to its long axis. Direction. Butterfly fracture
Bending
Force that results in one end of the bone being held stationary while the other end is twisted. Spiral. Direction
Torsion
Sudden impact or slow build up. Dynamic (fast) vs static (slow)
Speed
Any injury caused by a force that has a wide area of impact on bone. Usually the result of compression or bending. Usually exhibits both discontinuities and fracture lines
Blunt force trauma
Trauma caused by sharp edged instruments, usually the result of compression
Sharp force trauma
Results from impact with an object that travels through air that impacts with enough energy. Bullet, arrows, spears
Projectile trauma
Any evidence of bone healing. Porosity near the breaks as opposed to smooth cortical bone. Rounding of edges. Callus present
Antemortem trauma
Sharp edges, both of broken bone surface and fracture lines. Hinging. Formation of fracture lines and no healing, angled and jagged broken ends.
Perimortem trauma
Dry bone rarely exhibits fracture lines. Likely to snap at right angles. No evidence of healing. Color of break is usually different than rest of bone
Postmortem trauma
