An adult human body has a total of 206 bones. While a child has about 300 bones in its body.
Different numbers of bones are found in different parts of the body and in different sizes. The ear has the smallest bone while the thigh is the largest.
Different body parts have different numbers of bones which are shown in the following image:
Forensic Anthropology is the study of skeletal and
other human remains to identify an individual and to determine the circumstances
involved in someone’s death.
Osteology
Osteology (the study of bones) is very important
when forensic scientists wish to identify remains at a crime scene. When
forensic scientists arrive at a crime scene area, they are often faced with
very badly decomposed remains, along with many other types of physical
evidence.
Distinguish Human Bone From Animal Bone
Forensic
investigators must be able to distinguish human bone from animal bone. For
example, bird bones are hollow. Because humans are bipedal (walk on two feet),
our bones have unique features. Humans have a large calcaneus (heel bone) and a
big toe bone, as we pass all our weight to our feet when walking.
The
human body has 206 bones. The average male skeleton weighs about five (5)
kilograms (about 11 pounds), and the average female skeleton weighs about three
and one-half (3.5) kilograms (about 7.7 pounds).
FORENSIC TAPHONOMY
Forensic
Taphonomy is the study of the postmortem changes to human remains.
It
is mainly focused on environmental effects including decomposition in soil and
water and interaction with plants, insects and other animals.
Work of Forensic Anthropologist
Forensic anthropologists work to determine the age, sex,
ancestry, stature, and unique features of a skeleton. At times, they rely on
living descendants to provide information about the deceased.
A
forensic anthropologist may provide basic identification information on
skeletonized or badly decomposed remains.
From
a whole bone or part of a bone, the scientist may be able to determine:
An age range
Sex
Race
Approximate height
Cause of death or Disease
Sex
Sex must be assessed first, as it will prescribe the
methods used for the estimation of both age and stature. When a biological
anthropologist examines a skeleton. Sex
is a biological consequence of chromosomal inheritance.
Determination of Sex
Pelvis
Females
have wider sub pubic angle than males.
Females have a wider sciatic notch than males.
Females have a broad pelvic inlet than males.
Females have a larger pelvic brim than males.
Gender
Many gender differences are visible when the skull is
examined. Males have sloping foreheads, while females have straighter
foreheads. Males have extreme supraorbital ridges, while females have slight
ridges, with sharp orbital borders. Males have areas of pronounced muscle
attachment visible on the cheek bones and large canines. Females have rounded
chins, while the chins of males are more square.
Cranium
Crests and ridges more pronounced in males (A, B, C).
Chin significantly more square in males (E).
Jaw (I, E), mastoid process wide and robust in males.
Forehead slopes more in males (F).
Ancestry
The estimation of ancestry, or
the biological and geographic origins of the individual according to their
genetic history is an integral part of the biological profile. While most
medico-legal agencies ask for a determination of the race of the individual
remains in order to search missing persons files, it is not possible to
precisely correlate social race and biogeographic ancestry.
Race is difficult to determine
from most skeletal remains, especially since pure races are becoming uncommon.
An experienced forensic anthropologist can generally place skulls into one of
three groups:
Caucasoid — European, Middle Eastern, and Indian descent.
Negroid — African, Aborigine, and Melanesian descent.
Mongoloid — Asian, Native American, and Polynesian descent.
Age
Age may be estimated from calcifications
(stages at which the bones are uniting), successive changes in the pelvis,
evidence of bone disease such as arthritis, and the way the teeth are worn.
Determination of Age from Bones
Ages 0-5: teeth are best – forensic odontology.
Ages 6-25: epiphyseal fusion – fusion of bone ends to bone shaft.
epiphyseal fusion varies with sex and is typically complete by age 25.
If the remains contain any
complete long bones. Most stature formulae are based on the assumption that a
long bone is proportionally related to the overall stature of the individual.
Stature estimation can be quite accurate (if not precise) when the individual
is compared to a population with established growth curves, known average
statures and stature distributions, and one which is contemporary with the
individual.
Trauma
The next phase of the analysis
is identifying any evidence of ante mortem trauma or pathology on the skeleton
that may aid in the identification of the individual and the final phase is
identifying any indications of peri-mortem trauma that may indicate how the
individual died. With the latter, the anthropologist must be able to
distinguish peri-mortem from post-mortem trauma to bone.
• Previous trauma / ante-mortem
Trauma
The
forensic anthropologist must assess the skeleton for congenital abnormalities
or any signs of disease or trauma that the individual suffered during life.
Evidence
of a once broken or fractured bone indicates a previous trauma that may lead to
a victim’s identity through comparisons with medical records.
A forensic anthropologist is
generally concerned with three types of
peri-mortem trauma :
Blunt
Force,
Sharp
Force,
And
Projectile (Gunshot And Fragmentation Injuries).
Height
If
the skeleton is incomplete, forensic scientists are able to approximate the
height of an individual by measuring the length of the foot. The length of a
person’s foot is approximately 15 per cent of his or her height.
15/100
= Length of Foot / x (person’s height) Formulas applied to the length of the
femur, tibia, or fibula will also approximate the height.
The
ratio of body parts is slightly different in growing children.
Estimation of Height
The height of a person can be
calculated by measuring the length of certain long bones, including the femur,
tibia, humerus, and radius. Below are the equations used to determine average
measurements for both male and female. (All measurements are in centimeters.)
Male Height, H
Female Height, H
H = femur ´ 2.23 + 69.08 H = tibia ´ 2.39 + 81.68 H = humerus ´ 2.97 + 73.57 H = radius ´ 3.65 + 80.40
H = femur ´ 2.21 + 61.41 H = tibia ´ 2.53 + 72.57 H = humerus ´ 3.14 + 64.97 H = radius ´ 3.87 + 73.50
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Forensic is; Observe a Little More – Archana Singh