HOSA Forensics: Anthropology (10%)

forensic anthropologists

mainly focus on outdoor death scenes ; they recover scattered/ burned remains, model tissue based on skeletal form, and interpret injuries related to bones

forensic taphonomy

study of postmortem changes to human remains caused by environmental effects

taphonomic context

the immediate environment and surroundings where the body is found

how taphonomic condition assesses

stage of decomposition ; amount of scavenger chewing evidence ; drying/ bleaching by the sun

age indicators in infants and childen

size of teeth and skeletal bones

diaphyses

(long bone shafts) help determine age or stature

ossification centers

(places in a bone that start growing) forms the skeleton ; the timing of their growth depends on age/ sex, etc

teeth

human child has 20 deciduous teeth ; human adults mostly have 32 permanent teeth

sexual dimorphism

differences in size/ shape of the sexes ; after puberty, it is easier to differentiate between sexes

pelvis

female pelvis has additional breadth and increased diameter

skull

male skull tends to be larger, robust, right angled, larger postcranial skeleton

simometer

assesses facial flatness (this could correlate to a certain population group)

disarticulated joints

no longer held together with soft tissue ; often found in old folks

allometry

ability to estimate stature from long bone lengths depends on the presence of patterned and proportional relationships between sizes of body parts

obtaining positive identification

DNA analysis, fingerprints, dental records, x-rays, artificial joints, etc

pubis symphysis

area on pelvis where right and left halves join (indicates adult age)