Transcript Forensics Anthropology

Forensic Anthropology
Forensic Anthropology
What is Forensic Anthropology?
• Generally speaking forensic anthropology is the examination of
human skeletal remains to determine identity and present findings
in courts of law.
•Other duties of a Forensic Anthropologist:
Assist in the recovery of bodies in mass disasters
Experts in constructing facial features over a skull
Superimpose a face on a skull using computer or digital camera
Facial and body recognition of people in crowds
Case of Adolph LuetgertChicago’s “Sausage King” 1897
 First U.S. case to involve an expert
Forensic Anthropologist (George
Dorsey- curator of the Field Museum
of Natural History in Chicago
 http://murderpedia.org/male.L/l/luet
gert-adolph.htm
Forensic Anthropology
What questions could Forensic Anthropologists ask?
• Are the bones human?
• Was this person male or female?
• How old were they when they died?
• How tall were they?
• Was the person in good health at the time of death?
• Was the person right handed or left handed?
Forensic Anthropology
How do Forensic Anthropologist aide law enforcement?
• Through the established methods, a forensic anthropologist can
aid law enforcement in establishing a profile on the unidentified remains.
•The profile includes sex, age, ethnicity, height, length of time since
death, and sometimes the evaluation of trauma seen on bones.
Forensic Anthropology
Is the bone human?
• A human adult has 206 bones.
• Since many animal bones look similar
to ours, often it takes an anthropologist
to determine if the bones in question are
human.
Forensic Anthropology
• Which is the human femur bone?
A
Chimpanzee
B
C
Human
T-Rex
D
Great Dane
Forensic Anthropology
Was the person male or female?
One way to determine the sex is to examine the pelvis.
The interior of the pelvis is wider in women.
Male
The sciatic notch is narrow.
Female
The sciatic notch is wide. To allow for child birth.
It can even be determined how many natural births a woman has had!!!!
Forensic Anthropology
The skull is also useful in determining sex.
Male
Female
• Supraorbital Notch (eye socket):
softer in women.
• Zygomatic Arch (above jaw):
prominent in men.
• Mandible (jaw) :
square for men, soft for women.
• Supercilary Arch (eye brow):
ridged in men.
Forensics Anthropology
How old was the person at time of death?
• Teeth – come in at common intervals.
• example: wisdom teeth.
• Fusion of epiphysis – femur and other long bones.
• Clavicle (20 – 30 yrs) – cartilage to bone.
Forensic Anthropology
• Pubic Symphysis – Throughout life, the surfaces of the pubic
symphysis are worn at a more or less predictable rate. By examining
the wear of the pubic symphysis, it is possible to estimate the age
of the person at death
Forensic Anthropology
• Skull Sutures – Fusing of the skull over time.
child
adult
Forensic Anthropology
How tall was the person?
•By using bones we can get a rather accurate estimate of a
person height.
Female
tibia (cm) x 2.53 + 72.57 = height (cm)
radius (cm) x 3.87 + 73.50 = height (cm)
Male
tibia (cm) x 2.39 + 81.68 = height (cm)
radius (cm) x 3.65 + 80.40 = height (cm)
•Example:
A 41.3 cm Caucasoid male tibia was found in a wooded area.
How tall was the this person?
41.3 cm x 2.39 + 81.68 = 180 cm (5’-11”)
Forensics Anthropology
So, who was the person?
• DNA can be taken from bone cells and marrow.
• Dental records (odontology) can ID a person. As well as
unique bite marks.
• Unique breaks and illnesses can be detected from skeletal
remains.
• Occupation can be reasonable determined. Heavy labor causes
bones to become larger.
• We can also determine if a person was right or left handed.
Forensics Anthropology
Are the bones from a crime?
• Look for bullet holes or fractures.
• Impressions from weapons are
made in bones.
stone tool marks on animal bone
Forensic Anthropology
Facial Reconstruction
Copernicus