Transcript Forensic Anthropology A Brief Intro

Forensic Anthropology
A Brief Intro
Distinguishable Traits
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Age
Sex
Race
Approximate Height
Health
Males vs. Females
•Overall
Male
•Thicker
•Rougher
•Bumpy
Female
•Smooth
•Less knobby
Males vs. Females
•Skull
Male
Female
•Low/sloping
frontal bone
•Square eye
orbits
•Square jaw (90
degrees)
•Square chin
•Occipital
protuberance
•High/rounded
frontal bone
•Circular eye orbits
•Sloped jaw
(greater than 90
degrees)
•Round/V-shaped
chin
Males vs. Females
•Pelvis
Male
Female
•Narrow subpubic angle
•Heart-shaped
pelvic cavity
•Scars on surface
if she had children
•Wide sub-pubic
angle
•Round pelvic
cavity
Age
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By about age 30, the suture at the back
of the skull will have closed.
By about age 32, the suture running
across the top of the skull, back to
front, will have closed.
By about age 50, the suture running
side to side over the top of the skull,
near the front, will have closed.
Height
• Found by measuring humerus (upper
arm) and femur (thigh)
• Formulas dependent on:
– Males
– Females
– Races
– Unknowns (less accurate)
Race
•Characteristics that differ:
Caucasoid Negroid
Mongoloid
Shape
of eye
Rounded,
somewhat
square
Rectangular
Rounded,
somewhat
circular
Nasal
Spine
Prominent
Very small
Somewhat
prominent
Femur
Fingers fit
under
curvature
Fingers will
not fit
Finger fit under
curvature
Other characteristics
• Right/Left handed
• Diet & Nutrition
• Diseases & Genetic Disorders
– Osteoporosis
– Arthritis
– Scoliosis
– Osteogenesis imperfecta
• Previous Fractures
• Work/Sports
• Childbirth