flashcards FA
Chapter 1
Definition- the study of human remains and the law
Anthropology contains four subdisciplines:
-Cultural anthropology - study of humans cultural differences
- Linguistics - the study of humans with languages
- Archaeology - study of humans through remains
-Physical/Biological anthropology
Professional forensic anthropologists are biological anthropologist first
Estimate demographic info for the biological profile from skeletonized or partially skeletonized remains
Assess any trauma and their causes (also pathology)
Estimate time since death
Location and recovery of remains using different methods or techniques
Positive identification only if possible
Forensic Anthropologist responsibilities
Work in the context of deceased
Also work on identifying victims of
- Mass disasters
- War atrocities
- Persons historical interest
Historical Background
Thomas Dwight (1843-1911)
Father of forensic Anthropology
One of first to study human skeleton and estimate age sex stature of human remains
Parkman Murder, 1849
Reassembled dismembered body and estimated stature and age at time of death
Leutgert case, 1897
Identified 4 small bone fragments as a human
Ruxton case, published 1937
Reassembled dismembered bodies and used photographic comparison and ratio of sternum measurements
Notable physical anthropologist
Wilder and Wentworth - face reconstruction and fingerprints
Stevenson
Ales Hrdlicka and Ernest Hooten - museum and skelte collection
T. Wingat Todd (physician) - Massive collection of remains
Robert Terry and Mildred Trotter - another massive collection in smithsonian
Consolidation Period: 1939-1971
Wilton Krogman published A Guide to the Identification of Human Skeletal Material (1939)
Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii (CILHI)
Identification lab established in Japan
Modern Period: 1972- present
Physical Anthropology section of American Academy of Forensic Sciences ( AAFS) established (1972)
American Board of Forensic Anthropology ( ABFA) established (1977)
Founding of the Forensic Data Bank (FDB) at UTK under Richard Jantz
Medicolegal Community
What does medicolegal mean? Using medicine in a legal context
Experts forensic anthropologist work with:
Medical examiners
Coroners
Forensic Pathologist - Position to conduct autopsies
Forensic anthropologist, archaeologist and odontologists are not experts for death but would be consulted or brought onto the case from one the medicolegal community
Other specialist
Ballistics experts
Forensic entomologists
Forensic Botanists
Forensic Anthropology and the Law
Frye v. US (1923)
Federal Rules of Evidence (1975)
Based on sufficient facts or data
Reliable principles and methods
Applied to the facts of the case reliably
Daubert Standards
Testable
Peer Reviewed
Known error rate
Standard Protocol
Widespread acceptance in the relevant scientific community
Protocol for Gathering Forensic Information
1. Are the remains human?
2. Are the remains of medicolegal significance (within the past 50 yrs.)?
3. Do they represent a single individual or the commingled remains of several?
4. When exactly did the death occur?
5. What was the decedent’s ancestry?
6. What was the decedent’s sex?
7. What was the decedent’s age?
8. What was the decedent’s stature, body weight, and physique?
9. Does the skeleton/body exhibit any significant anatomical anomalies, signs of old disease and injuries, or any other characteristics which can provide positive identification of the deceased?
10. What was the cause of death?
11. What was the manner of death?
The more of the questions answered and more protocol covered makes ur case more likely to be used and trusted
Methods of Forensic Anthropology
Split into 2 different types of forensic anthropology:
Methods to analyze data
Methods to gather data
Data Gathering Methods
Anthroposcopy
Osteometry/Metric Methods
Chemical Methods
Histology
Data analysis methods
Decision Table -Helps judge the importance of conflicting information to come to a single conclusion.
Range Chart- Creates a visual representation of multiple ranges of estimates (age ranges) in order to determine a central tendency
Discriminant Function- Calculating a group assignment from measurements
Regression Equation- Value of one characteristic (e.g., stature) can be predicted from the values of other characteristics (e.g., lengths of long bones)
Human Osteology and Dentition
What is a bone?
Definition of bone- A composite substance that any of the pieces of hard whitish tissue making up the skeleton
Definition of Osteology- the study of bones
Odontology- the study of teeth
Why is it important to understand and study these practices?
In order to identify bones you need to understand and study these practices to make sure it is correct and human
Human adult skeletons have 206 bones while children are still growing the number can vary
Bone Anatomy
Gross external anatomy
Diaphysis- the longest part of the bone(the shaft)
Metaphysis- the connection between the diaphysis and the epiphysis
Epiphysis- the end part of the bones
Gross internal anatomy
Cortical/compact bone
The cortex
Trabecular/cancellous Bone
Spongy
Medullary cavity
Very hollow (they yellow marrow)
Microscopic Anatomy
Features of cortical bones ( wavy sheets)
Primary vascular canals + Primary osteons
Modeling
Immature, woven bone
Secondary osteons ( bone turnover) ( circles/tree rings)
Aka: Haversian systems
Remodeling
Features of trabecular bone
Trabeculae
Different types of Bone Growth
Cartilage model -> woven bone -> mature bone
Primary and secondary ossification centers ( primary before birth and secondary is after birth)
Long bone growth
Length- Epiphyseal growth as bony matrix is deposited onto the ends of the metaphysis
Width- Appositional ( deposition) growth as bone is deposited on the cortex and removed from the inside (medullary cavity)
Periosteum
Joints
Why are joints important to forensic anthropology?
Areas of greatest bone activity
Some diseases affect certain type of joints more than others
Three types of joints
Immovable (Synarthrodial)
Slightly Movable (Amphiarthrodial)
Free movable (Diarthordial)
Immovable joints
Allow virtually no movement betweens adjoining bones
Ex: tibia and fibula; bones of the skull
Slightly Moveable Joints
Bones are connected by plates of cartilage which allow limited motion
Ex: joints between vertebrae
Freely movable Joints
Six types:
Ball and socket (shoulder)
Condyloid
Saddle d
Hinge (elbow)
Pivot (Head)
Gliding ( wrist and ankles)
Orientation Descriptors
Anatomical
Superior/Inferior (birds eye view)
Proximal/Distal (long bones) prox (top or round) distal(bottom or lower)
Medial/Lateral (symmetry line) med(closer to middle) Lat( further from middle)
Anterior/Posterior (Ventral/Dorsal) Ant ( front) Post(Back)
Anatomical Planes
Skeletal Regions
Cranial skeleton vs. Postcranial skeleton
Cranial- Brain, Skull
Postcranial- everything else
Axial skeleton vs appendicular
Axial-
Appendicular-
Thorax
D
THE SKULL AND OTHER BONES
Cranium
Contain 21 outwardly visible bones and 6 ear ossicles (3 per side)
Bones articulate tightly at sutures (immovable joints)
Mandible ( the Jaw bone)
Bones of the Cranium
Sutures
Most sutures close with time and are sometimes completely erased in old age
Can help estimate age at death
Most are named for the bones they separate (e.g internasal suture separates nasal bones; zygomaticomaxillary suture separates zygomatic and maxilla)
7 sutures are no naked in this manner:
1. Sagittal suture– separates parietal bones
2. Coronal suture– separates frontal from parietals*
3. Lambdoid suture– separates occipital from parietals*
4. Squamosal suture– separates parietals from temporals
5. Incisive suture (of palate) – separates the part of maxillae which contain the incisors from the rest of the bone
6. Transverse palatine suture (of palate) – separates maxillae from palatines
7. Median palatine suture (of palate) – separates the two maxillae and the two palatines
Cranial landmarks
Designated points on the skull used for description and measurement
Sinuses
Pockets of air within some of cranial bones
Configuration of the sinuses is unique
Can be for positive id comparing antemortem and postmortem x rays
Examples
Frontal sinuses
Maxillary Sinuses
Sinuses in ethmoid, sphenoid, and mastoid processes of temporal bone (more complex, not easily visible even in x-ray)
Hyoid
Ribs
12 pairs= 24 ribs (usually*)
Connect posteriorly to the cerebral column and anteriorly to the sternum with cartilage
1st - 2nd : short and flat
3rd -10th : regular
11th - 12th : floating not attached on sternal ends
Each rib has 3 parts:
Head
Neck
Body or shaft
Vertebral Column
Three types of vertebrae, defined by their location in the spine: Cervical (7), Thoracic (12) and Lumbar (5)
Sacrum and coccyx also part of the vertebral column
Each vertebra
Two main segments: body & neural arch (with vertebral foramen)
Upper Limb: Shoulder Girdle
2 bones (L & R sides):
Clavicle
Scapula
glenoid fossa
Long bones
Humerus
head, trochlea,
olecranon fossa
Radius
head, styloid process,
ulnar notch
Ulna
Head,olecranon process
Radial notch
Upper limb: Hand
Hand bones (27):
Carpals (8) - wrist bones
Metacarpals (5) -bones of the palm
Phalanges (14 = 3 for each finger and 2 for the thumb)-b bones of the fingers
Pelvic Girdle
4 bones: os coxae (L & R) sacrum and coccyx
Os Coxae made of 3 bones: ilium, ischium, and pubis
Sacrum
Coccyx
Lower Limb: Long Bones
Femur
Head
Neck
Shaft
Condyles
Patella
Tibia
Tuberosity
Anterior crest
Medial malleolus
Fibula
Lateral Malleolus
Feet
Tarsals (7) - ankle bones
Metatarsals (5)- Bones of foot
Phalanges (14 = 3 for each toe, 2 for big toes ) - toe bones
Teeth
Crown Neck Roots Enamel Dentin
Five Directions of Tooth Surfaces
Mesial - middle teeth
Distal - molars back teeth
Lingual - ( )
Labial/Buccal- (lips)
Occlusal - biting surface
Quadrants of the mouth
Upper left, upper right
lower left, lower right
Permanent teeth - 32 total teeth
incisors ( 2 each quadrant)
Canines (cuspids) (1 each quadrant)
Premolars (bicuspids) (2 each quadrant)
Molars (3 each quadrant)
Deciduous (baby) teeth – 20 teeth total
Incisors (2 each quadrant)
Canines (1 each quadrant)
Molars (2 each quadrant)
ESTABLISHING THE FORENSIC CONTEXT
HOW DO FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGISTS DETERMINE FORENSIC SIGNIFICANCE?
Bone vs non- bone
Human vs. Non-Human
Contemporary vs. Non-contemporary
BONE VS. NON BONE
Microscopic analysis
Chemical analysis
HUMAN VS. NON-HUMAN
Between 25% and 30% of remains brought to forensic anthropologists are from nonhuman sources
Three things help distinguish humans from non-humans
1. Histology
2. Maturity
3. Architecture
CONTEMPORARY VS. NON-CONTEMPORARY
4 aspects helps distinguish forensic significance:
Preservation
7 characteristics:
Color
Texture
Hydration
Weight
Condition
Fragility
Soft tissue
Exposed and/or buried for an extended period of time: discolored, grainy, dry, lightweight, often fragmented, fragile, with no soft tissue
“Fresh” bone: off-white, smooth, greasy, heavy, solid, and usually containing soft tissue
Body modification:
Cranial modification
Dentition
Prosthetics
Other
Personal Belongings
Prehistoric objects
Modern objects
Conditions of internment
Haphazard and untreated vs. Formal burials
Factors to help identify burials with people who have died of normal causes:
Arrangement
Direction of face
Pretreatment
Burial enclosure
Arrangement & Direction of Face
Tightly flexed
Faced sideways
Flexed and Semi-Flexed
Faced sideways
Extended
Faced upwards
Pretreatment
Embalming
Cremation
Burial Enclosure
Coffin or mausoleum is common in Western societies
Stone-lined pits common in prehistoric societies
COMPLICATIONS:
Must be aware of long unused cemeteries
Legitimate burials from old and forgotten graveyards that could appear to be forensic cases
Old family graveyards in rural areas
Cemeteries near churches
Old graveyards in the land near public buildings and parkS
Body arranged carefully in the grave, with treatment (embalming), inside a coffin
Body found in disorganized manner, without treatment, without a coffin