Human Remains Human Remains

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					      Human Remains

“There is a brief but very informative
biography of an individual contained within
the skeleton, if you know how to read it…”
               —Clyde Snow, Forensic Anthropologist
                 Human Remains

Students will learn:
How anthropologists can use bones to determine
whether remains are human; to determine the gender,
age, and sometimes race of an individual; to estimate
height; and to determine when the death occurred

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                   Human Remains

Students will be able to:
 Distinguish between a male and a female skeleton
 Give an age range after examining unknown remains
 Describe differences in skull features among the three
major racial categories
 Estimate height by measuring long bones

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Forensic anthropology is a
type of applied anthropology
that specializes in the
changes and variations in the
human skeleton for the
purpose of legal inquiry

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 A forensic anthropologist may provide basic identification
  information of skeletonized or badly decomposed
 From a whole bone or part of a bone, the scientist may
  be able to determine:
             An age range
             Sex
             Race
             Approximate height
             Cause of death, disease, or anomaly
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Study of bones
206 bones in an adult human
Function of bones:
     Provides structure and rigidity
     Protects soft tissue and organs
     Serves as an attachment for muscles
     Produces blood cells
     Serves as a storage area for minerals
     Can detoxify the body by removing heavy metals
      and other foreign elements from the blood
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                                Estimation of Height

The height of a person can be calculated by measuring the length
  radius. Below are the equations used to determine average
  measurements for both male and female. (All measurements
  are in centimeters.)

   Male Height, H                    Female Height, H
                                     H = femur  2.21 + 61.41
   H = femur  2.23 + 69.08          H = tibia  2.53 + 72.57
   H = tibia  2.39 + 81.68          H = humerus  3.14 + 64.97
   H = humerus  2.97 + 73.57        H = radius  3.87 + 73.50
   H = radius  3.65 + 80.40
            What can bones
               tell us?
 Osteobiography- tells about a person
  through study of skeleton
 Right-handed person- right arm bones-
  slightly larger than bones of left arm.

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     Skeletal Examination
Smell of bone marrow-stays with bone for
 50 years
If odorless-more than 50 years old
Can determine if body has been moved-
 bones exposed to elements become brittle
 and bleached
                     Age Determination

Most accurate estimations from:
 Teeth
 Epiphyses or growth plates
 Pubic symphysis
 Cranial sutures: the three major cranial sutures appear as distinct
  lines in youth and gradually close from the inside out.
Investigators always use an age range because of the
variation in people and how they age.The investigator does
not want to eliminate any possibilities for identification.
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                        Age Determination
                       Using Cranial Sutures
                                                     Sagittal suture
Sagittal suture completely closed
 Males—26 or older
 Female—29 or older
Sagittal suture is complete open
 Male—less than 32
 Female—less than 35
Complete closure of all three
major sutures
 Male—over 35                             Lambodial           Coronal
 Female—over 50
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Sutures in Skull
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             Gender Differences
                 in Bones
The pelvis of the female is wider. Males have
a narrow subpubic angle (A) and a narrow
pubic body (B).

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Male                Female

       Sub Pubic Angle
                Gender Differences

The ribcage and shoulders
of males are generally
wider and larger than that
of females. In addition,
about one person in
twenty has an extra rib.
This is more common in
males than in females.

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       Differences in Skulls
Males have heavier
 brow ridge
Orbits are smaller in
Males have heavy
Female skulls are
 smaller with rounder
Look at page 422 activity 14.4.

Is this skull male or female how can you

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Race is difficult to determine from most skeletal
remains, especially since pure races are becoming
uncommon. An experienced forensic anthropologist
can generally place skulls into one of three groups:
 Caucasian—European, Middle Eastern, and Indian
 Negroid—African, Aborigine, and Melanesian descent
 Mongoloid—Asian, Native American and Polynesian
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Negroid skeletal group

   Smooth, elongated cranium
   Wide nasal opening
   Wide distance between orbits
   Alveolar process (bone between bottom of
    nose and upper teeth) projects outwardout
Caucasoid Skeletal Group

  Elongated skull
  Long, narrow nasal openings
  In some cases, projected mandible
Mongoloid Skeletal Group

    Rounded cranium
    Flat cheekbones and nasal openings
    Shovel-shaped incisor teeth
What differences do you notice
 between these three skulls?
  Can you determine race?

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The identity of an individual can
be determined by comparing a
person’s teeth to their dental
records. Unusual features
including the number and types
of teeth and fillings, the spacing
of the teeth, and/or special
dental work (bridges, false
teeth, root canals) help to make
a positive identification.

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               Odontology and

Teeth are often used for body
identification because:
 They are the hardest substances in the body
 They are unique to the individual
 X-rays are a good record of teeth

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                      Facial Restoration

After determining the sex, age,
and race of an individual, facial
features can be built upon a
skull to assist in identification.
Erasers are used to make tissue
depths at various points on the
skull. Clay is used to build
around these markers and facial
features are molded.

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                          Steps in Facial
With a skull:
                                                 Model muscles on skull
    Establish age, sex and race
                                                 Add fatty tissue around
    Plot landmarks for tissue
                                                  eyes and lacrimal glands
                                                 Add eyelids
    Plot origin and insertion points
     for muscles                                 Add the nose
    Plot landmarks for facial                   Add the parotid gland
     features                                    Add the ears
    Select a dataset and mount                  Cover all with layers of
     markers for tissue thickness                 skin
    Mount the eyes                              Detail the face

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                        One Final Product

John List killed his entire family, moved to a new town and
assumed a new identity. Seventeen years later, Frank
Bender reconstructed what he believed List would look like.
It was shown on America’s Most Wanted, and he was turned
in by the viewers almost immediately. . . looking very much
like the reconstruction.
Check out more about this story on CourtTV’s crime library:

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                                at Work

This anthropologist is
hard at work dusting
away material from
these imbedded

Picture taken at
Chicago’s Museum
of Natural History

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                        Animal Facial
Determining what T Rex looked like using the bone formation.
From this:                           To this:

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                      More Applications

Forensic experts may be called upon
to give information on the life and death
of humans and animals in unique
circumstances, including:
    Mass Murder (Oklahoma bombing, plane crashes, World Trade)
    Earlier man (mummies, Iceman, Lindow man)
    Historical Significance (Holocaust, uncertain death of famous
    Prehistoric Animals (Dinosaurs)

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