ANTH 245 1st Edition Lecture 5 Outline of Last Lecture I. The Nature of Forensic Evidence Part 2Outline of Current Lecture II. Why use a forensic anthropologist? III. Biological profileCurrent LectureForensic Anthropology (2/11) • Forensic anthropology: application of biological anthropology to medico legal issues • Analysis of skeletal remains • Develop biological profile • Skeletal biology: study of anatomy, physiology, growth and development of the human skeleton • Training o Takes place in a university setting o Minimally need a Master's degree (USA) o Must have a Ph.D. (really unusual in US to only have a masters o American Board of Forensic Anthropology - pass rigorous exam, be graduated from graduate school for about 5 years, have work a certain number of cases I. Why Use a Forensic Anthropologist? • Called into a case when remains are not visually identifiable; enough decomposition to obscure ID • Typical forensic anthropologist case: o Burned o Cremated • Case where crematorium in Georgia ran out of money and dumped bodies in the woods instead of cremating them o Incomplete o Fragmentary o Excavations o Surface scatter • Also investigate trauma even if ID is known o E.g. car/pedestrian collisions These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.o E.g. human rights cases Scenarios when a Forensic Anthropologist is Valuable • Mass disasters o Hurricane, flood, tsunami • Bombings and fires o can reconstruct position of body based on burn patterns • Mass graves • Burials o Decomposed o Cremations o Search and recovery Roles of the Forensic Anthropologist • Search/recovery of remains o Remains often outdoors • Evaluate taphonomy o Taphonomy = what affects a body after death • Personal ID o Construct a biological profile • Interpret trauma • Estimate PMI (Postmortem interval - how long the person has been dead) o Also known as "time since death" • Report writing and expert testimony • May be involved in the investigation of mass fatalities, crimes against humanity, and recovery of U.S. war dead Goals of a Forensic Anthropologist o Establish forensic context, i.e. establish that the remains represent a recently deceased human o Sorting human from nonhuman remains o Establish temporal context • Prehistoric • Historic • Forensic (involves medico legal questions • Determining temporal context o Radiocarbon date (before or after 1950) • Can give us date of birth and date of death (approximately) • Spike in radiocarbon in atmosphere between 1950 and 1963 - spike of this in bones will placethe person on the bomb scale • Staining - green indicated copper • Any wood adhering to bones - indicates presence of coffin • Modifications - fillings to teeth, prosthetics, etc. II. Biological Profile ◦ "The Big Four" ◦ 1. Age • How old was this person when they died ◦ 2. Sex • 3. Ancestry ◦ African, European, or Asian? • 4. Stature • Trauma • Pathology • Taphonomy Sex Estimation o Gender does not equal sex o Cannot estimate sex of a sub-adult • Can't estimate sex for a child because the bones are still growing • Both sexes look skeletally similar until puberty • Three main areas of the skeleton used in adult sex estimation: • Pelvis • Postcranial bones • Skull o Gracile - female o Robust - male Estimation of sex  Pelvis  Long bones • Long bones provide next best sex estimate • *Population specific o Skull *Adult remains only Age Estimation: Sub-adults  Sub-adult age estimationo Dental development and eruption o Long bone development (epiphyseal fusion)  Epiphyses are the ends of your bones Dental Development • Each tooth forms at a different time • Development of crowns followed by roots • How much of the crown and root has formed for each tooth • Genes have a lot of control over dental development • Dental Eruption o Timing of when tooth breaks through gums o Less precise and reliable than development o Get an estimate within 1 to 2 years Long Bone Development • Growth plate lies between shaft (diaphysis) and the epiphysis at each end of a long bone • Different epiphyses fuse at different times • Females are precocious • 2 to 3 year range • Last epiphysis to fuse is the medial clavicle o Clavicle is the first bone to form for a fetus and typically the last bone to fuse • Long bone measurements are compared to a growth chart to determine age at death • Not as reliable because its less genetically controlled and more strongly influenced by environmental factors • Lots of population variability • Leas reliable method Principal Adult Aging methods o Pubic symphysis o Looking for degenerative changes o Joint in the front of the pelvis o Ridges/furrows become smooth then irregular o Rim forms then breaks down • Auricular surface o Joint in the pelvis o Surface has striations that become irregular o Bone becomes denser and porosity increases o Borders become more irregular • Sternal rib ends o When cartilage attaches ribs to sternumo At first, relatively flat surface with rounded edges ◦ Pit becomes deeper ◦ Wall becomes thinner ◦ Edges become irregular Porosity