ANTHROPOLOGY REVIEW 1. What Is the Primary Job of a Forensic Anthropologist? to Determine the Identity of Skeletal Remains in Criminal Cases
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Name : ___________________________________ ANTHROPOLOGY REVIEW 1. What is the primary job of a forensic anthropologist? To determine the identity of skeletal remains in criminal cases. 2. Why is it difficult to determine sex in young children? The skeleton doesn’t differentiate by sex until after puberty. (little boy skeletons and little girl skeletons are identical) 3. What three bones can be used to determine sex in adults? Which is best? Pelvis, skull, femur. Pelvis is best 4. Mark the following as Male or Female characteristics: a. large brow ridge Male b. short, wide sacrum Female c. flexible, small coccyx Female d. subpubic angle of 105 degree Female e. subpubic angle of 87 degree Male f. pelvis is wider and flared Female g. opening in pelvis is heart-shaped Male h. bones in pelvis are thinner Female i. occipital protuberance is absent Female j. large mastoid process Male k. jaw angle is 102 degrees Female l. ocular orbits are round Female m. skull is generally smaller Female n. forehead is low and sloping Male o. skull is bumpy and rough Male p. femur meets pelvis at very sharp angle Female q. bones are denser and bumpier Male BE ABLE TO WORK PROBLEMS LIKE THOSE ON RM 99-100. BE ABLE TO LOOK AT PICTURES AND TELL MALE/FEMALE. 5. What is the best indicator of age in children? teeth 6. Describe the different ways to assess age of an adult. Pelvic wear and tear, skull sutures, rib endings, osteon size in bones 7. Be able to work problems using the pattern of tooth eruption to estimate age. Study the diagrams on 107-108. A. the skeleton of a young child was found with no teeth erupted; estimate age. Less than 10 months B. the skeleton of a child was discovered with all primary teeth present and no erupted adult teeth; estimate age. 25 months to 6 years 8. Be able to work age problems based on skull sutures, etc. Like those problems on RM 99 9. Estimate age if: a. Lambdoidal sutures almost fused. Age__________ almost 30 (26-30) Sagittal and coronal sutures not fused. b. Lambdoidal sutures not fused. Age__ less than 30 (if lambdoidal is wide open = less than 21) Sagittal and coronal sutures not fused. c. All sutures are wide open Age _________ less than 21 d. All sutures are closed Age _________ fifty plus 10. What is the best indicator of race? The skull (particularly nasal index) 11. Explain how experts can assess age by looking at bone fragments under a microscope. More small osteons = older; Less but larger osteons = male 12. How can experts determine handedness from assessing a skeleton? Dominant bones will grow larger 13. Be able to answer questions about anthropological values and their relationships to each other such as height and arm span or height and stride length. (RM pages 109-112) both are related; arm span and height are frequently the same or very close 14. What is the last bone to stop growing? clavicle 15. What is an indication that a woman has given birth? Scarring on the pubic bones (called parturition pits) 16. Be able to determine height if given bone length. Be able to determine bone length if given height. RM 103-106 a. Caucasian female; femur is 50 cm 173.88-181.32 b. African American female; humerus is 31cm 155.9-164.4 c. Male; unknown race; tibia is 35 cm 158.34-166.64 I will provide the equations for height using various bones. Scenarios: 17. A skeleton was found with large muscle attachments and a subpubic angle of 88 degrees. The skull showed no evidence of sutures closing and wisdom teeth had not erupted from the gums. Tibia length is 37cm. What can you determine about this individual? Male, less than 21 years of age, approximately 169 cm in height 18. A skull was found with a jaw angle of 103 degrees and no occipital protuberance. All skull sutures have closed. What can you determine about this individual? Female, older than 50 19. A body is found with the lambdoidal suture closed but sagittal and coronal sutures open. The pelvis shows parturition pits. Body does not exhibit rigor but lividity is fixed. Bruising on neck and petechial hemorrhage is evident. Femur length is 41 cm. What can you determine about this individual? Female that has given birth, between the ages of 30-32, dead more than 36 hours, COD is likely strangulation, height is approximately 157 cm .