Anthropology Case Study: Interpreting Anthropological Forensic Evidence

Anthropology Case Study: Interpreting Anthropological Forensic Evidence
Introduction
Anthropologists have used human bones (skeleton) to study aspects such as sex, age, origin (race), cause of death, among others (Palmer, 2011). This paper involves the analysis of a case study where the anthropologist uses the bones to determine the aspects above. The anthropologist determines the features above using the skeleton. In the first part of the paper, I prepare an inventory of all the bones of the skeleton. I mark the bones as present (P), or absent (A). The second part of the paper involves analyzing the forensic evidence. Using the forensic evidence that I establish from the bones, I determine that the skeleton belongs to a woman of Caucasian origin. I also find evidence of trauma on the skull, which shows that the woman died due to some force that was applied on the skull, e.g. being hit with a blunt object. The age of the woman is between 30-39 years.
Part 1: Skeletal Inventory
Bones Present/Absent
Skull bones
a) Cranium P
b) Mandible P
c) Hyoid
d) Tooth A
P
Axial bones
a) Sternum bones
• The Manubrium
• The body
• The Xyphoid process
P
P
P
b) Ribs: Left and right ribs were 24 P
c) Vertebrae: Complete
• Centrum
• Neural arch
P
P
Upper Limbs
a) Right Limb
• Scapula bone (with glenoid fossa, coracoid process, and acromion).
• Clavicle bone (with sternal third, middle third, and acromial third)
• Long bones (Humerus, Radius, and Ulna)
• Carpal bones (Scaphoid, Lunate, Triquetral, Pisiform, Trapezium, Trapezoid, Capitate and Hamate)
• Metacarpals (MC1-MC5)
• Hand Phalanges (Proximal, Intermediate, and distal phalanges)
P

P
A

A
A
b) Left Limb
• Scapula bone (with glenoid fossa, coracoid process, and acromion).
• Clavicle bone (with sternal third, middle third, and acromial third)
• Long bones (Humerus, Radius, and Ulna)
• Carpal bones (Scaphoid, Lunate, Triquetral, Pisiform, Trapezium, Trapezoid, Capitate and Hamate)
• Metacarpals (MC1-MC5)
• Hand Phalanges (Proximal, Intermediate, and distal phalanges)
P

P
A

A
A
Pelvic Girdle
a) Ilium P
b) Ischium P
c) Pubis P
Lower Limbs
a) Femur P
b) Tibia A
c) Fibula A
d) Patellae A
e) Tarsal A
f) Metatarsals (MT1-MT5) A
g) Foot phalanges A
Cibra Orbitalia (with normal bone surface)
a) Left Orbit P
b) Right Orbit P
Key: P: Present; A: Absent
Part II: Final Report
a) Sex Determination
I used the visual assessment technique to determine the sex of the person of the skeleton. Visual assessment entails using the observable features on the bones to conclude if the person is male or female. I used the pelvic girdle, specifically, to determine the sex of the individual. I observed that the bone was open, and it had a circular pelvic inlet. In a male individual, the pelvic girdle bone is usually narrower than that of males, and the pelvic inlet is usually heart-shaped. Using the observation of the pelvic girdle, therefore, I concluded that the individual was female.
The long bones of the upper and lower limbs were absent from the skeleton. I could not, therefore, use them to determine the sex of the individual, though they could have assisted me in the process. However, I observed that other bones in the areas of muscle attachment, for example the ribs, were narrow. Connell and Rauxloh (n.d) explain that females are less muscular and they, therefore, have a lower development of bones compared to males. Male bones are wider than females’ to provide a larger surface area for the attachment of muscles.
The skull is also important in determining the sex of a skeleton. The features of the skull that I observed to conclude that the skeleton belonged to a female included the temporal lines, the orbits, the skull, and the arches. The temporal line refers to the surface where the temporal muscle attaches to the parietal bone. The line extends the skull’s mandibles, and according to Forensic outreach (2014), the temporal line usually has a ridge that is less pronounced in females, compared to males. I observed that the ridge of the temporal line was less pronounced, an observation that guided me to conclude that the individual was female. I also observed that the size of the skull was generally small and Forensic outreach (2014) states that male skulls are usually big, while female skulls are relatively smaller. I also observed that the ridge of the orbit was sharp, something which Forensic outreach (2014) is different in males, explaining that the ridge is blunter in men than women. The arches’ underneath (forehead) has some ridges in males (Forensic outreach, 2014). However, I observed that the part of the skull did not have any ridge, an observation that made me to conclude that the individual of the skeleton was female. The hyoid bone was missing from the skeleton, and I could not observe it for sex determination.
b) The Race (origin) of the Skeleton
I observed the mandibular traits (features of the jaw bone) to determine the race of the skeleton. I used a table to provide a flat surface area for observing the traits of the jaw bone. I observed that when I placed the skull on the table, with the jaw bone aligned to the table; it (the jaw bone) rose and fell on the lower border. This is a feature that is present on the jaw bones of the whites (Caucasians), according to Palmer (2011). I also observed that the edge of the jaw bone was curved, a feature that differentiates a skeleton belonging to a Caucasian individual, from that of an Asian or an African. The gonia (the edge of the jaw bone), in Asians, usually curves sharply in Asians, while in Africans, the edge of the jaw usually curls slightly (Palmer, 2011).
c) Age of the skeleton
I used the tooth-wear technique to determine the range of the age of the skeleton. The reason I chose the method was because the skull had all the teeth present in the skeleton, an indication that it was an adult’s skeleton, and dental development was complete. The method is limited to skeletons of infants as dental development is incomplete in such people (under the age of five years). However, since the skeleton had a complete dental formula of an adult human, the tooth-wear method was suitable. I observed the layers of the teeth, especially the molars and pre-molars, and determine that the skeleton’s age ranged between 30-39 years. The individual was, therefore, an adult before her death. The disadvantage of the tooth-wear method, however, is that its accuracy is affected by factors like dental pathology and diet, factors which can cause premature tooth-wear, leading to inaccurate determination of the age of the skeleton using the method. However, in the absence of such limitations, the method remains the most effective one for the estimation of skeletal age (Connell and Rauxloh, n.d).
d) Trauma
I observed the frontal and occipital bones and noted traits of trauma on the skull. I observed that the frontal and occipital bones had fracture features, indications that the individual experienced hitting with a blunt object on the skull, which caused the trauma. Trauma deaths occur in a variety of ways, for example, a vehicle may knock a pedestrian, causing trauma on the knocked surface. Alternatively, the individual may fall, causing trauma on the surface (Batalis and Cina, 2013).
Apart from the signs of fracture that I observed on the frontal and occipital bones, the missing of the hyoid bone from the skull was another indication of trauma. I concluded that she died as a result of an accidental trauma, which caused a fracture of the hyoid bone, hence its exclusion from the skull.
Other parts of the skeleton which received trauma during the accident included the upper and the lower limbs. Bones in the limbs, for example, Humerus, Radius, Ulna, carpals, metacarpals, and hand phalanges (upper limbs); and tibia, fibula, tarsal, and metatarsals (lower limbs) were missing. I concluded that the woman not only experienced trauma on the skull, but also the limbs (upper and lower); which caused the exclusion of the limb-bones from the skeleton.
There were, however, other possibilities of the cause of the death, apart from a moving object (e.g. vehicle/train) knocking the woman, and causing the trauma on the bones. Suicide and homicide can also cause trauma and exclusion of some bones from the skeleton (Batalis and Cina, 2013). I observed that the woman may also have died from homicide, which characteristically involved her murderer(s) hitting her with firm and blunt objects, for instance, a crowbar, a club, or a bat. Another possibility was that the woman might have jumped from a raised position, for example, a storey building, falling on a hard surface (Batalis and Cina, 2013). Such a surface, e.g. a floor or ground, may have caused the trauma that affected the frontal and occipital bones, and the lower and upper limbs that were absent from her skeleton.
Conclusion
The forensic examination of the skeleton has revealed many aspects about the owner of the skeleton, showing the importance of such an examination. The observation is simple, as it involves making observations on the bones and arriving at conclusions. The aspects that I have determined using the skeleton forensic examination include sex, age, and race. The skeleton belongs to a woman of a Caucasian decent. Her age ranges between 30-39 years.
I have also determined the possible of her death by observing the trauma on the frontal and occipital bones, the hyoid bone, and the lower and upper limbs (which were missing from the skeleton), to determine the possible causes of the woman’s death. I observed cracks on the frontal and occipital bones of the skull. The hyoid bone received a fracture, causing its exclusion from the skull. The lower and upper limbs broke in the course of the trauma, causing their absence from the skeleton. It is, therefore, possible that the woman died on a road accident. She could also have fallen from a storey building. Alternatively, her death may have been due to homicide (murder); as these are the possible causes of blunt force trauma.

References
Batalis, N.I. (2013). “Forensic Autopsy of Blunt Force Trauma”. Medscape.com. Retrieved on
July 23, 2014, from http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1680107-overview
Connell, B., & Rauxloh, P. (n.d). “A Rapid Method for Recording Human Skeletal Data” (pdf).
Retrieved on July 23, 2014 from http://archive.museumoflondon.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/61CC101E-B351-451B-857B-7A4479E78CC7/0/RapidMethodRecordingManual.pdf
Forensic Outreach website. (2014). “Four ways to Determine Sex when all you have is the
Skull”. Forensicoutreach.com. Retrieved on July 23, 2014 from http://forensicoutreach.com/4-ways-to-determine-sex-when-all-you-have-is-a-skull/
Palmer, B. (2011). “Can you tell a person’s race from the skull?” Retrieved on July 23, 2014
from http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2011/01/alas_poor_yorick_or_is_it_othello.html