Application Of Forensic Anthropology In Human Identification From The Skeleton

Forensic Anthropology

The study of Biological anthropology includes a wide rage of sub categories such as medical anthropology, evolution, and forensic anthropology. Forensic anthropology uses the methods of osteology, a physical anthropology to analyse physical remains for legal issues such as criminal trials. Forensic anthropologists can determine sex, age, race, and cause of death, this allows them to contribute to legal matters and provide useful knowledge to authorities.

A forensic anthropologist differs tremendously from a forensic pathologist and forensic entomologist. A pathologist is someone whom deter studies soft tissues and organs and a forensic entomologist studies the insects whom aid in decomposing the deceased body. There are many components that are involved with forensic anthropology, these processes can be used to determine features of a skeleton by investigating and determining the age, sex and race.

Once the remains of the bodies have been dug up, forensic anthropologists will continue to do further research on the remains and discover what gender the species is. Different body parts are distinguishable between male and female skeletons. For instance, some facial features that help identify the sex of the skeleton would be mandible, chin, mouth, and cranial base. Female skeletons have a v-shaped and more pointed chin whereas males will have a u-shaped square chin. Another difference that can be used to distinguish the difference between the genders would be the cranial base is flatter, and less marked whereas males have a rounded more marked cranial base. Anthropologists will typically have problems identifying a gender when the skeleton is a child, for the most part this is very difficult, so DNA testing is usually required.

Like determining the sex of a skeleton there are many physical properties that indicate weather a skeleton is Inuit, Aboriginal, European, African, Melanesian, North Asian, South Asian. Many physical features of skeletons cranium can give indicators of the skeleton’s ethnicity. Facial features such as prognathism, which is the protruding lower jaw or opposite is the orthognathic, which is a flat lower face. When studying bine there are many ways in which determining gender and race inter connect with each other. Teeth are good way to determine the race of a specimen is Chinese, Mongolian and Native North American people have sinodont teeth. Sinodont teeth are shovel shaped incisors and three rooted molars.

Many different techniques are used to determine the age of a skeleton, most of the time anthropologist are tasked with guessing the age of the individual when they had passed away. In order to aid with estimating the age of a skeleton there are strategies that can be used such as epiphyseal unions. In addition, skeletal bones such as pubic symphysis, cranial, and dental structures can assist in aging a skeleton.

Epiphyseal Union

A common way to determine the age of skeleton is to identify if it is an adolescents or young adult this is done through a process called epiphyseal union. This concept was made known by Bass and Jefferson, they stated during one’s childhood the end of the bone’s epiphyses is attached to the shafts b cartilage, this is so the shaft can grow. During adolescence the epiphyses begins to fuse to the shaft, which leads to the end of a growth spurt. Forensic anthropologist can use this to determine the age of a skeleton due how much the shaft and bone have fused together. The bones that are used to determine age are arms, legs, hip bones scapula or clavicle. Bones that are closer to the body are known as proximal epiphyseal union, the proximal ends fuse two year behind the distal ends.

Pubic Symphysis

A way to determine the age of a skeleton is by inspecting the pubic symphysis. This is when the anterior and posterior of the of the pubic bone is examined, the symphysis is located on the right and left side of the pelvic bone, over time the texture of this bone will change, the older the skeleton the more smooth this joint is, and the younger the skeleton the more rough the bone is. This allows anthropologists to make a well educated guess as to how old this skeleton was when they passed away. The anatomist who discovered and developed this method was T. Wingate Todd who lived 1885-1938. Todd studied bones from 306 skeletons, which were collected in Cleveland between 1912 and 1920 these became the first pieces to the Human-Todd Collection.

Cranium

The structure of a cranium allows for dating, this is done by examining the fibrous joints known as sutures. During the younger years of life, the sutures allow for more elasticity within the skull, this is since the brain is still growing and developing, and the cranium will be able to grot and adapt to the size of the brain. Eventually as a person ages the sutures will fuse together is a process called closure and the different pasts of the skull fuse together are become seamless and virtually invisible. There are two different types of closure, endocranial which refers to the inside of the skull and ectocranial which refers to the outside of the skull.

Dental structure

A final way to date skeletons is by investigating the specimen’s teeth this is known as dental aging, since teeth grow at very specific rates it is an efficient way to determine the age of a child. Infants contain teeth known as deciduous teeth and as the grow and develop the permanent teeth begin to emerge. It is also simple to tell the gender of a skeleton by the teeth since girl’s permanent teeth emerge much earlier than boys.

Case study

Archeological anthropology is use widely around the world, one case study in Milano Italy provided evidence of how forensic anthropology is used. In 2001 a skeleton was found; the body had been completely skeletonized but still presented remains of clothing. The skeleton was bound to the wall by chains around their ankles. The crime scene investigators collected all the remines of the body for the forensic anthropologies to examine. Initially the biological profile of the specimen was determined this was done through sexting, aging, estimate of ancestry, height and dental structure. After a thorough analysis the biological profile led to the identity of the suspect, whom was a young North-African who had gone missing. The suspects had endured much trauma prior to their death this is shown by microscope tests on the bone lesions.

After all the testing the results showed that the skeleton belonged to a 35-44 year old Caucasian male who was 1.69m tall. It was also determined that his central incisors were missing antemortem. The results for trauma analysis were present blunt force injury prior to the death, impacted the left scapula and right fibula. The radiographic and macroscopic results show that the trauma occurred 15-30 days antemortem. Further evidence acquired by anthropologist’s state that after the time period that the suspect was beat be was stabbed and dies shortly after. This evidence from forensic anthropologist was used in a report that was presented to a judge in order to show the evidence of the trauma on the skeleton’s bones.

Forensic anthropology is a large component of biological anthropology but can be separated into components such as skeletal ageing, sexing and racing of a specimen. There are many ways to determine the age of a skeleton such as epiphyseal union, pubic symphysis morphology, and by investigating dental and cranial structure. Some of there’s factors also assist in determining the gender of a skeleton the skeletal build of a specimen will present indicators ass to the gender of the species. Determining the race of a skeleton evolves the similar aspects as gender identification as well as aging. Thus, evidence such as dental and facial features can indicate the race of a specimen. Forensic anthropologist can interpret and diagnose many features od diseased skeletons by studying the structure of the skeletal remains.