goofy ahh forensic anthropology midterm

FUCK!!!!

What are the origins of forensic anthropology in the United States?

It kind of began with physicians and anatomists discovering that they can use morphologies and other parts of bones to identify a person and specialized more over time

Who were some of the key players in the development of forensic anthropology?

Thomas Dwight: “father of FA,” was the first to write articles and teach about human skeletal identification, first time in history that knowedge of a skeleton was applied to forensics

Wilton Krogman: aka “the bone doctor"“ he published a book with almost everything known at the time about the human skeleton

Ernest Hooton: taught at Harvard and taught a lot of people about physiology and how to identify people from skeletal remains (unfortunately was also lowkey racist, tried to categorize people unfortunately)

What are some important historical cases in FA?

The Parkman murder in 1849: Dr. George Parkman was murdered over a debt and the murderer dismembered him and even cremated the head. Anatomists were able to reassemble the skeletal remains and determine that they matched Parkman’s profile

Who was thomas dwight?

“father of FA,” was the first to write articles and teach about human skeletal identification, first time in history that knowedge of a skeleton was applied to forensics

who was wilton krogman?

aka “the bone doctor"“ he published a book with almost everything known at the time about the human skeleton

Who was Ernest Hooton?

taught at Harvard and taught a lot of people about physiology and how to identify people from skeletal remains (unfortunately was also lowkey racist, tried to categorize people unfortunately)

What are some of the major legal developments of FA?

Frye vs US, Federal Rules of Evidence, Daubert vs Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals

what was Frye vs US?

Expert testimony means that methods have to generally be accepted by scientific community to be valid

What was the Federal Rules of Evidence?

Established who is an expert/qualifications to be an expert (i.e. diploma)

Daubert vs Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc. 1993

Added more guidelines to what makes a valid testimony

What are the professional ethical considerations of a FA?

Respect (treat remains and families with respect and sensitivity), confidentiality, honesty (accurate and complete assessments, don’t put in ideas that cannot be supported with data)

What are some personal ethical considerations of a FA?

political and social considerations in foreign countries (customs of indigenous people), conditions of investigation (if it will neg. affect work), rights of victims families (want closure?), moral opposition to death penaltu, dangerous risks for investigator, justice might cause distress for innocent

Example from lecture or readings of an ethical challenge and what do you think the response should have been

The Kennewick Man/Ancient One, skeletal remains over 9000 years old were found on federal land in Washington and were originally taken for research but in 2016 they were given back to the indigenous community they were originally a part of. Lots of controversy over scientific importance and nagpra. I think the response should have instantly been to return it to the tribe he was from before doing any research because who gives a fuck abt old humans bro

What are some of the broader ethical problems with how human remains are treated in the US?

should they be on display? if people donate their bodies with intentions of being on display is that more okay? war trophies? NAGPRA? should people be allowed to sell/buy real human remains?

What is a reference collection? How are they created and what are they used for?

A reference collection is a large collection of remains with known demographics and they are used for comparative methods and are used to test for new methods. They are created by collecting a large number of bodies with known demographics, and techniques have changed over time but some ways they get bodies are from resurrectionists who dug up bodies, utilizing unclaimed bodies from the local morgue, people donating their bodies, etc. They are used to determine the identity of skeletal remains by comparative and cross-examination processes

example of a reference collection and who compiled it

1. Hamann-Todd reference collection in Ohio has over 2600 full cadavers and mainly consists of people with no connections (esp poor and marginalized people). Compiled by T Wingate Todd
2. The Terry collection in Missouri has over 1600 dissecting room cadavers and is currently in the Smithsonian. Compiled by Robert J Terry and Mildred Trotter

What are some ethical and methodological problems about reference colelctions

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we don’t know exactly where a lot of these bones came from, and we don’t know if the people they used to be would be okay with this current use. A lot of bodies in reference collections were either stolen or unclaimed bodies which meant that there is a solid chance they were not buried because people didn’t have the money. The main thing is we do not know if this is what those people would have wanted for their bodies.

What is the molecular structures of bone

35% organic, 65% inorganic; gives it both strength and elasticity so it can support the body without snapping every step. There is spongy and compact bone and the spongy bone looks spongy while the compact bone looks compact

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What is the microscopic structure of bone

Consists of hydroxyapatite (CaPO4) crystals (inorganic part) and collagen makes up most of the organic part of the bone, 10% of organic part is bone cells. Bone cell types are osteocytes (maintain bone tissues), osteoblasts (produce bone tissue), and osteoclasts (bone resorption).

What are the roles that osteocytes, osteoblasts, and osteoclasts play?

osteocytes (maintain bone tissues), osteoblasts (produce bone tissue), and osteoclasts (bone resorption)

What are the functions of the skeletal system

Mechanical component of musculoskeletal system
Protects soft tissue
Anchors muscles, tendons, ligaments
Produces red blood cells
Stores fat
Reservoirs of calcium and phosphate

How does morphology of specific bones contribute to their functions?

* Ulna: has a hook shape on the proximal end which allows for it to hook around the olecranon fossa on the humerus so we can bend out elbows without (hopefully) dislocating them
* Talus: very platform-like so it can help to bear weight which contributes to its function as weight-bearing since it is on the bottom of ur fucking foot
* The lumbar vertebrae: these vertebrae are much wider at the core than the thoracic or cervical vertebrae which contributes to its weight-bearing function

How have reference collections been used to assist in forensic identification?

Giles and Eliot (1963) used the Terry Collection to make functions for cranial data which helps with assessing sex to better identify individuals??? I DONT KNOW OK

how does the history of FA influence how it is practiced today?

I think that the history of FA consisting very much of not having enough specimen to practice on has impacted how it is practiced today as some scientists still care more for using bodies for science than care about their emotional and cultural value. also the raunchy/racist history of FA causes many FAs to be hyper-aware of their ethics as they know where their study has been born of and know how to be better. like maybe don’t grave rob or be racist.