ANT 256 Lectures 8 & 9

Concepts in Identification: Biological Profile

What is the biological profile?

- sex, age, ancestry, stature
- 1st step in identification: sex
- guides investigation: be cautious
- if results ambiguous: say so

Why is a biological profile done?

It is done to make identification easier and to find out who the individual was. This guides the investigation, and if the profile is wrong, the case won't be solved.

What is the sequence of the different analyses?

- sex determination
- robusticity
- size and shape
- age estimation

Why is the sequence of the different analyses done that way?

It is important to determine the sex of the individual first because you have to look in missing persons reports for either a male or female but if you get the sex wrong, the case would never be solved. Robusticity and size and shape narrow the search even more and will make it easier finding out who the individual is.

What are the problems with the different analyses?

- features develop with age
- young male skulls can appear feminine or ambiguous
- because the skull grows throughout life, older female skulls can appear masculine or ambiguous
- determining ancestry is difficult to determine, but people still try to rely on it

How do we address or "solve" these shortcomings?

- look at pelvic shape to determine if male or female (except, it can be difficult in individuals who haven't gone through puberty)
- dental formation and eruption
- long bone shaft lengths
- appearance of ossification centers
- union of epiphyses

What are some of the anatomical differences that allow us to identify the sex of individuals?

- skull differences
- pelvic differences
- juvenile differences

Skull differences:

- differential rates of growth
- differential periods of growth
- craniofacial growth: downward and forward
- traits reflect differences in size and robusticity: 80-90% accuracy

Pelvic differences:

- differential patterns of growth
- shape differences
- females: bipedalism and childbirth
- initiated at puberty
--> better indicators than size/robusticity -- controlled by endocrine system (90% accuracy)
- CAUTION: young female may appear male

Juvenile differences:

- children have not developed secondary sex characteristics
- metric methods and more accurate in these cases
--> canine tooth size
--> depth and breadth of greater sciatic notch (90% accuracy)
- morphological can still be used -- but "backed up" by metrics