These basic racial traits provide a means to describe people during the process of identification as, as shown above, racial traits differ in frequency from one major region of the world to another. For this purpose, FORDISC (a computer programme developed to help anthropologists create a biological profile for victims when only part of the cranium is present. It works by using discriminant function analysis, which is developed from a large database of skeletal measurements). When used in conjunction with manual comparison, this is proving to be extremely useful (Ramsthaler, 2007) and will continue to become more useful as the database grows and additional populations are included (such as Native Americans etc).
Figure 10: Newly Classified Australoid Skull
A fourth skull, the Australoid skull (see Fig. 10) has recently been classified. However, it is important to note that its classification and the use of the three subclasses of the Caucasoid skull (Nordic, Mediterranean and Alpine) is currently a highly contentious issue amongst anthropologists, many of whom believe that racial classification should be left at the three main races (Mongoloid, Negroid and Caucasoid). However, it is clear that being able to divide such large and generic populations down into smaller and more accurate groups is useful in forensic cases, especially as there are so many differences in the appearance of these subclasses (see Fig. 11 for table of differences).
Figure 11: European Racial Types According to William Ripley’s: The Races of Europe, (1899)
This is, however, a highly contentious issue and there has been a lot of racial tension surrounding these three sub-classes. White Supremacists used the Nordic race to promote their belief that blonde-haired, blue-eyed people were the most advanced of the human population groups. Indeed, theorist Ernest Hooton believed that the Nordic race was actually the Northern variety of the Mediterranean race, who merely lost their skin pigmentation through the natural selection process of the environment. He even went so far as to say that a skilled anthropologist would have trouble differentiating between a Mediterranean and Nordic skeleton (Hooton, 1931).
It is useful information though, as the differences in facial features and the stature of these sub-classes does allow anthropologists to narrow down their list of potential victims (the stature in Nordic and Mediterranean races differs for a start), which could lead to cases being solved more quickly and efficiently.
Yet another way to not only determine race, but to identify an individual is through forensic facial reconstruction. This is a highly controversial area of forensics, and is based on the techniques of anthropology, osteology, anatomy, forensic science and artistry. It is one that is interesting, as even though it is subjective, it has proved successful enough to warrant further research and metholodgical advances. As facial reconstruction is not a mainstream or routine techniques, it is described in Appendix 7 for interest.
3.3 Determining the Sex of the Victim
Once race has been identified, the next stage in anthropological profiling is sex determination.
To begin the role of the skull will be discussed, before continuing on to the use of the pelvis, and finishing with the use of other bones, such as the humerus, radius, tibia and female metacarpal bones etc.
3.3.1 Skull Examination
The skull can be used to identify the sex of a victim in several ways. Brasili et al (1999) explains…In general, male skulls tend to be larger and more robust than female skulls, which are more slender. Another test is how large the supraorbital ridge is. The supraorbital (or brow) ridge is generally more prominent in males, and is generally sharper in females. Males also have a more prominent glabella (the space between the eyebrows and above the nose) and more prominent temporal lines. The lines of the temporal bone are based on the length of the mastoid process, which is longer in males than females due to a larger muscle attachment area (see Fig 4), and the zygomatic bone (see Fig 5). The mastoid process is a conical protrusion from the temporal bone that connects several muscles. It serves for the attachment of the digastric muscle (small muscle under the jaw which stretches from the mastoid process to the symphysis menti), the sternocleidomastoid muscle (paired muscle in the neck that facilitates movement of the head), the splenius capitis muscle (broad, strap like muscle at the base of the neck, which connects the base of the skull to the vertebrae and upper thorax) and the longissimus muscle (a muscle in the neck that connects to the back). On average male skulls also tend to have larger, broader palates, squarer orbits, larger sinuses and larger occipital condyles (see Fig 6) than those of females. Male mandibles (jawbones) also typically have squarer chins and thicker, rougher muscle attachments than their female counterparts (see Fig. 12 for table regarding full differences). It is important to note that all of these features vary considerably within human populations, depending on race, so determining the sex of a victim through their skull should be used in conjunction with the pelvis and other bones.
Figure 12: Nonmetric Sexual Cranial Traits and Trends (Ramey-Burns 2007)
3.3.2 Pelvis Examination
In addition to using the skull, the pelvis is also an extremely useful part of the skeleton to assist in sex recognition. It’s the single most reliable structure for sex determination, with focus on the pubis and the ilium. The female pelvis changes drastically during puberty, in preparation for childbirth (Steyn, 2009).
When compared to the male pubis, the female counterpart looks like it has been stretched toward the midline and the sub-pubic angle is much wider in females than in males, typically more that 90 degrees and less than 90 degrees, respectively. Other differences are that the greater sciatic notch is somewhat wider in females - usually more than 68 degrees, but is less for males, and that the acetabulum, (where the head of the femur meets the pubic bone) is typically larger and deeper in males than in females. The sacrum is also straighter in females, but more curved in males, and, finally, the space in the middle of the pelvic bone (the pelvic inlet) is larger in women to facilitate birthing – this also results in wider hips for the female (see Figs. 13 and 15).
Another occurrence, which has often been mistaken for a sexual difference in the pubis, is that after a woman has borne children, she may sometimes develop irregularities in the smooth dorsal surface of the pelvis. These irregularities generally take the form of small circular depressions known as “parturition pits”. It used to be the case that whenever these pits were found on the pelvis, that it was automatically assumed to be female. However, it has transpired that these pits can also occur in men, especially if the man in question is overweight.
Figure 13: Male and Female Pubic Bones, Sex Determination: Available at: []
Figure 14: Pelvis - Sciatic Notch , Norman, W. (1999)
Another place in the pelvis to find sexual differences is in the ilium. In comparison to the male ilium, the female counterpart appears more flared at its widest point, and narrower at the base of the iliopubic ramus. This happens because the sciatic notch widens during puberty in the female. After a female has had children, she often develops a groove, or sulcus, at the anterior, inferior edge of the auricular surface. This is called a “preauricular sulcus” (see Fig. 15). A study by MacLaughlin and Bruce (1986) stated that the width of the sciatic notch was a particularly poor discriminator of sex, although they did conclude that it shouldn’t be ignored, just that it should be used in combination with all other available evidence.
Figure 15: Pubic Ilium – Preauricular Sulcus, Gray, H. (1918)
3.3.3 Other Bone Examinations to Determine Sex
Other bones that can be compared for sexual differences are the radius, the humerus, tibia, femur and metacarpal bones. The humerus is particularly useful because the deltoid muscle (muscle forming the rounded contour of the shoulder) is usually bigger in the male, than in the female due to increased muscle size. The deltoid muscle is attached at the deltoid tuberosity (shaft on the humerus), and the expansion of the muscle causes the tuberosity to change in contour, more than in diameter. Stewart (1979) claims that the vertical diameter of the humeral head (with females being 43mm or less, and males being 47mm or more, with 43-47 being indeterminate) can estimate sex.
The radius is also quite useful in determining sex as the head of the radius shows sexual dimorphism. Berrizbeitia (1989) measured the radii of the Terry Collection (a collection of 1,728 skeletons collected by Robert J. Terry during his time as an anatomy professor during the late 19th to mid 20th century) at the Smithsonian Institute and discovered that sex could be predicted for both black and white people using the following criteria: 21mm or less for females and 24mm or more for males (with 22-23mm being indeterminate).
The tibia can be used by comparing the width of the knee (this tends to be larger in males than in females) and by discriminant function of tibia measurements. Isçan and Miller-Shaivitz, (1984) demonstrated that sexual prediction could be race dependent as there is more sexual dimorphism in some racial groups than in others. Therefore, it is extremely important to take the race of the victim into account.
Another leg bone that can determine sex is, of course, the femur. The fact that females have a wider pelvis means that they have a larger femoral-tibia angle (also known as the quadriceps angle). Typically, the male angle is 10-14 degrees and the female is 15-18 degrees (Ramey-Burns, 2007). Another way of determining sex from the femur is with femoral head measurements. This is based on basic physical anthropology and sexual dimorphism, as males are generally larger than females.
Šlaus et al (2003) provided the following results of estimation of sex from the femoral head diameter (see Fig. 16).
Figure 16: Sex Estimation Using the Femoral Head Diameter, Slaus (2003)
Whilst all of these methods are useful, it is important to note that they should all be used in conjunction with one another, and not alone, as alone the bones of the tibia, radius and humerus especially are not that useful, but when used with bones of the cranium, pelvis or femur, they become more so.
3.3.4 New Methods
A more recent method of determining the sex of a victim was researched in 2008 using the proximal femur and fragmentary hipbone (Albanese et al, 2008). This method is notable because although the pubic bone is considered the main bone useful for determining sex, it is also easily damaged post mortem. The method suggested by Albanese et al uses new measurements and angles of the proximal femur to recreate the variation in the pubic bone. By using these new variables along with traditional methods, they were able to develop two equations which were not population specific, and which were found to be accurate in the region of 95-97%. This is obviously extremely useful as it to some extent negates the need for determining the race of a victim before determining the sex. This is particularly helpful if only the femur and hipbone are found, as many other methods rely on the condition and measurements of many bones to determine the sex of a victim, whilst these two equations need only the femur and the hipbone, which is useful in cases where no complete skeleton is found.
Another new method uses the patella to determine the sex of a victim. This is obviously quite an innovative idea, as no other research has been done on sexual differences in the patella. The research proposes a new sex determination method using the patella, based on a new automated feature extraction technique using computed tomography and a set of standard classification methods (Mahfouz et al, 2007). This is extremely useful as the samples used were from living people – this technique is so innovative because the samples are infinite as it is non-invasive. This obviously provides anthropologists with an enormously wide data range with which to compare patellae. All the anthropologists need to have with this method is one patella, which is obviously going to prove useful in cases with incomplete skeletons.
The final new method that this sub-chapter focuses on is sex determination through the measurement of the mastoid triangle of the skull (Singh et al, 2008). Three osteometric measurements were taken, and the area of the triangle was calculated using the following formula:
A = √ (a + b + c) (a + b – c) (b + c – a) (c + a – b)
4
The results were compared with age groups between ages 18 – 60 (both male and female) and it was found that there is a significant difference in the mean area of the mastoid process in males and females, with the male mastoid process being larger. This is again, useful if an incomplete skeleton is found, as the mastoid process is obviously part of the skull, which is one of the strongest bones of the body. This method of determining sex is useful if the victim met their demise through a particularly violent end, such as a fire or fall from a considerable height.
3.4 Determining the Age of the Victim
This sub-chapter will focus on determining the age of a skeleton, and it will do this by examining the three stages of age as recognised by scientists (adult, young adult/teenager and child).
To begin, the various ways to age victims are detailed, starting with the ribs, before moving on to the pubic symphisis and auricular surface of the ilium. Children will be discussed separately, as they are aged using the size of bones, bone fusion and teeth eruption - but teenagers and adults will be discussed in tandem with each other.
3.4.1 Pelvis Examination
Professor T.W. Todd first suggested use of the component analysis of pubic sympheses (the pubic symphysial face is where the two pubic bones are joined through cartilage in the front of the pelvic girdle) in 1920. He published a description of the ten phases of aging in the pubic symphysis with illustrations of each phase. His work has been the foundation for the knowledge of the pubic symphysis we have today - however his work is now largely outdated and we follow a new, six phase system, called the Suchey-Brooks System, which is a refined system of Todd’s original work. This is based on a large sample of individuals for whom their legal ages were provided by death certificates.
Suchey-Brookes developed their method after realising that Todd’s method was based on males, and discovering that females did not age at the same rate as males – some aged faster and others slower. It is important to note that it had long been thought that females could not be aged from the pubic symphysis, as people believed that the trauma of childbirth was bound to have a false and devastating aging effect. However, researchers developed separate standards for female pubic symphyses and proved them to be useful (Gilbert and McKern, 1973; Suchey, 1979; Suchey et al, 1986; Suchey & Brooks, 1990). The Suchey-Brooks six-phase system is as follows (see Fig. 17 for system and Figs. 18 and 19 for diagrams):
Figure 17: The Six Phases, Suchey, J.M, (1986)
Phase 1 (Ages 15-23): - Completely Ridged Surface: The symphysial face has an undulating surface composed of ridges and furrows, which includes the pubic tubercle. The horizontal ridges are well marked, whilst ventral bevelling may be commencing. Although ossific nodules may occur on the upper extremity, a key feature of this phase is the lack of delimitation for either extremity (upper or lower); there is no lipping and no syhmphysial rim. In the latter stages ossified nodules begin to form as ridges slowly disappear.
Phase 2 (Ages 19-35): - Ossified Nodules: The symphysial face may still show ridge development, whilst the lower and upper extremities begin to show early stages of delimitation - with ossific nodules (these nodules are now obvious). The ventral rampart may begin formation as an extension from either or both extremities, and the dorsal plateau is formed.
Phase 3 (Ages 22-43): - Ventral Rampart: The symphysial face shows that the lower extremity and ventral rampart are in the process of completion. Fusing ossific nodules may form upper extremity and extend along ventral border and the symphysial face may either be smooth or retain distinct ridges. The dorsal plateau is complete and there is no lipping of the symphysial dorsal margin or of bony ligament outgrowths.
Phase 4 (Ages 23-59): - Oval Outline: The symphysial face is generally smooth in this phase, although remnants of the ridge and furrow system may remain, and the oval outline is usually complete at this stage, though a hiatus may occur in the upper aspect of the ventral circumference. The pubic tubercle is fully separated from the symphysial face through definition of upper extremity. Ventrally, bony ligament outgrowths may occur in an inferior portion of the pubic bone adjacent to symphysial face. Slight lipping may also appear on the dorsal border, although there is no symphysial rim and no lipping.
Phase 5 (Ages 28-78): - Symphysial Rim: There is slight depression of the symphysial face, which is relative to a completed rim. Moderate lipping is usually found on the dorsal border with prominent ligament outgrowths at irregular intervals on the ventral border. There is little or no rim erosion, though breakdown is possible on the superior aspect of the ventral border.
Phase 6 (Ages 36-87): - Erratic Ossification: The symphysial face shows ongoing depression as the rim erodes, whilst the ventral ligament attachments are marked. The pubic tubercle may appear as a separate bony knob and the symphysial face may be pitted. The ventral border is now broken down, and there is irregular lipping on the dorsal face, whilst there is eroded erratic ossification on the symphysial face.
Figure 18: Six Phase Method – Female, Pubic Morphology, The Suchey-Brooks Method
Figure 19: Six Phase Method – Male. Pubic Morphology, The Suchey-Brooks Method
It is important to note that as with all things biological, there are many variables, and therefore the results are expressed as trends, rather than as definite and clearly defined steps, and that with these six steps, the higher the age number is, the less it tells you about the age range.
The auricular surface of the ilium (the uppermost and largest bone of the pelvis) also changes with age. Lovejoy and colleagues (1985) developed a method for age determination based on changes that occur in five areas of the auricular surface. Lovejoy, like Todd and Suchey created eight phases that each covered five-year intervals from subjects of twenty years of age, to subjects older than sixty. Whilst the Lovejoy method is not quite as easy to use as the Suchey-Brookes or Todd methods, the ilium often survives traumas that destroy the more delicate pubis.
Lovejoy’s method has been tested and revised several times (Meindl and Lovejoy, 1989; Bedford et al., 1993, Osborne et al., 2004 – see Fig 20 for his modification of Lovejoy’s method), but it continues to be difficult for many users. One reason for this difficulty may be that there are insufficient comparative materials. Although photographs have been published in several places, no casts were available at the time of Lovejoy’s work (and illustrations are based on casts of the actual bones). Murray and Murray (1991) summed up the real problem when they wrote that “the amount of degenerative change in the auricular surface is not dependent upon race or sex in any given age category. However, the rate of degenerative change is too variable to be used as a single criterion for the estimation of age; the range of estimation is simply too large for forensic science purpose” (p. 1162).
Figure 20: Osborne’s Six-Phase Modification of the Lovejoy Eight-Phase Method with Prediction Intervals, Ramey-Burns (2007) p. 127
3.4.2 Other Bone Examinations
The morphology of rib ends changes with age, as the sternal end of the rib is connected to the sternum by cartilage. At the start of human life the rib ends meeting with the cartilage are relatively flat, with smoothly rounded edges and a slightly undulating surface. In the teenage to mid twenties, the ends of the ribs begin to develop a V-shaped concavity, and develop slightly sharper, scalloped edges with a less wavy surface. As a young adult, this V-shaped concavity deeps, the edges become more irregular and the centres of the flat edges begin to project more than the superior and inferior rib edges – there is also a total loss of the undulating surface. As an older adult (mid 30’s to mid 50’s) the V-shaped concavity expands completely, forming a cup-shaved cavity, and the edges continue to get sharper until they become (in the elderly) ragged and ossified, causing the cartilage to become pitted and develop a crab-claw like appearance.
It’s also possible to age victims from their vertebral column, and this method is particularly useful because it’s capable of aging people between the ages of sixteen and thirty. Albert and Maples (1995) showed this by looking at epiphyseal ring fusion. Further analysis can be accomplished by examining the development of osteoarthritic lipping at the edges of vertebral bodies. However, after the age of thirty, vertebral age analysis becomes less accurate and should only be used in conjunction with other methods.
The four stages of vertebral age change are as follows:
Phase 1 (Child – less than 16 years): The epiphyseal ring is absent and regular undulations are present on the edges of the vertebral body.
Phase 2 (Late Teenager – 16-20 years): The epiphyseal ring is in the process of fusing, and the line of fusion is clear. The epiphyseal ring chips off easily.
Phase 3 (Young Adult – 20-29 years): The epiphyseal ring is completely fused, whilst the line of fusion is not visible. No osteoarthritis is visible, and the bone is smooth and solid.
Phase 4 (Older Adult – Over 30 years): The epiphyseal ring is obliterated, whilst osteophytic growth is progressing on the edges of vertebral bodies. The bone (especially the intervertebral surface) is increasingly porous.
3.4.3 New Methods
As is obvious from the previous sub-chapters, there are many methods used to age a victim from examination of specific bones, and whilst some work well on their own (the use of the pubic bone), many of them need to be used together in order to accurately age a victim, however, various new methods are constantly being developed, some of which will be evaluated here.
One such method uses amino acid racemisation in dental enamel (Griffin et al, 2009). The research was carried out on two medieval cemeteries (one in Switzerland and one in England) and the results showed that alterations in the amino acid composition were detected in both of the populations, indicating that diagenetic change had taken place. These changes did not appear to have substantially affected the correlation between racemisation and the age at death of the skeletons. There was a strong relationship recorded between aspartic acid racemisation and the morphological age estimates, whilst in contrast, there was a poor relationship between racemisation and age in the post-medieval documented age at death population from Switzerland. This seemed to be due to leaching of amino acids post-mortem, indicating that the enamel was not functioning as a perfectly closed system. However, the isolation of amino acids from a fraction of enamel, which is less susceptible to leaching, could improve the success of amino acid racemisation in the future.
This method is not without its flaws, but it is an interesting new and fresh idea regarding the use of teeth, which are usually radiographed to determine age. If methods could be developed that only needed a fraction of enamel then this method could prove extremely useful as teeth are the hardest bones in body, and therefore the most durable. Sometimes they are the only evidence remaining at crime scenes, and so, as with the other methods, all new developments that only need part of the human skeleton to categorically state the race, sex and/or age of a victim are interesting and deserve further investigation.
Another way to determine the age of a victim is by using the Sugeno Fuzzy Integral…
As previously discussed, it has been shown that current aging methods are often unreliable because of skeletal variation and taphonomic factors, as well as the need for whole skeletons. Whilst these multi-factorial methods have been shown to produce better results when determining age-at-death than single indicator methods (such as the pubic bone), multi-factoral methods are difficult to apply to single or poorly preserved skeletons, and rarely provide anthropologists with information about the reliability of the estimate. The research carried out by Anderson et al (2009) aimed to examine the validity of the Sugeno Fuzzy Integral as a multi-factorial method for modelling the age-at-death of an individual skeleton. This approach is novel because it produces an informed decision of age-at-death by using multiple age indicators, while also taking into consideration the accuracies of the methods and the condition of the bone being examined. Additionally, the Sugeno Fuzzy Integral doesn’t require the use of a population and it qualitatively produces easily interpreted graphical results, which is useful if the race of the victim cannot be ascertained if the bones are in too poor of a condition. The results showed that this method produces more accurate ages and with smaller intervals than any current single-factoral methods, which is obviously a bit damning for methods such as the one previously discussed, but useful for all of the other techniques that have been described in this chapter.
3.5 Determining Stature
The final way to age and hopefully to identify a victim that will be discussed in this sub-chapter is by using their stature and weight. Stature can be determined using the “Regression Formula for Estimating Maximum Living Stature (with standard errors) from Maximum Long Bone Length of the Humerus”. Ideally, the anthropologist will have all six upper long bones and all six lower long bones. Using the average of both right and left humeri, both right and left ulnae and both right and left radii, along with the average of both right and left tibia, both right and left fibulae and both right and left femurs, including the standard error, one can arrive at a fairly accurate estimation of height. This range can then used to estimate weight. An osteometric board is used for obtaining precise measurements of the long bones, as weight is a function of the stature determination. The result is a range of heights and weights based on the average standard error (Winson, 2004).
The formula for stature is: 3.26 x (humerus) + 62.10 = stature +/-4.43cm, 3.42 x (radius) + 81.56 = stature +/-4.30, 3.26 x (ulna) + 78.29 = stature +/-4.42 (there will be 2 calculations for stature, based on the upper and lower standard of error).
The formula for weight is: Weight (in lbs) = 4.4 x (stature in inches) – 143 (there will be 2 calculations for weight, based on the upper and lower standard of error).
Chapter 4: Odontology
In the previous chapter how to age adults, teenagers and, to some extent, children, using their bones was detailed; in this chapter odontology and its uses in aging victims - especially children will be discussed.
Odontology is the study of teeth, and is the science behind dentistry. Teeth can give us information about genetic heritage, personal hygiene and habits, age, diet, health and the amount of medical care someone undergoes.
There are four categories of teeth: incisors, canine, premolars and molars. A child has twenty deciduous teeth (baby teeth); five in each quadrant (there are four quadrants: the right maxillary quadrant, the left maxillary quadrant, right mandibular quadrant, and the left mandibular quadrant) and the normal adult has 32 permanent teeth, eight in each quadrant.
Age estimation from teeth has been discovered to provide better estimations with the formative years, rather than the generative years, which is similar to bone. The sequence of tooth formation and eruption is, of course, well documented, and it is widely known that formation is influenced by nutrition and health care, as well as by genetic inheritance, but it is less dependent on behavioural factors than dental ageing and tooth degeneration.
Tooth formation and eruption is useful for determining the age of children and young adults because tooth formation follows a set pattern - although there are individual and population differences (see Fig. 21 for pattern, Stanford School of Medicine).
Figure 21: The Age at which Specific Teeth Erupt and Form, ImageAtlas (2010)
The formative changes of teeth: commencement of crown development and then its completion, commencement of root development, the bifurcation of the root in multirooted teeth, its eruption into the oral cavity, its attainment of occlusion and finally the closure of the root tip can all be used to determine how old a younger victim was when they died. Adult teeth change through enamel erosion and when the gums recede. In our modern world, processed foods and professional dental care can make the teeth of a 60-year-old look like those of a 20-year old at first glance. The teeth are still aging, but in less visible ways. The six major age dental changes in adults were described and named by Swedish odontologist Gösta Gustafson in 1947 (Gustafson, 1950), and are as follows:
Attrition: Loss of tooth crown due to abrasion
Secondary Dentin: Deposition of minerals within the pulp chamber
Periodontosis: Apical migration of the periodontal attachment level (gum recession)
Root Transparency: Sclerosis of the root dentin beginning at the apex
Cementum Deposition: Thickening of the cementum layer
Root Resorption: Resorption and flattening of the apex
These changes can be seen on both single and multi-rooted teeth, although attrition and periodontosis are the only two that can be seen on direct examination. The other four can be seen on radiographs and under strong transmitted light.
Odontology is particularly useful because teeth are practically indestructible, being the strongest bone in the body, and can survive extreme conditions, even fire.
Chapter 5: Individual Features of the Victim – their Life and Death Story
In this chapter the individual markers on a body that can help identify a victim (e.g. broken bones or damage to the skeleton from an illness) will be discussed. For example, fine horizontal grooves on the victim’s front teeth indicate that the victim may have been very ill or malnourished when these teeth were developing during childhood. Similarly, fractures to bones of the face, ribs, and hands that are in various stages of healing may suggest a history of violence in the victim’s home life. As such, the creation of the victim’s biological profile can often uncover clues regarding the victim’s life history. Hopefully, this life history can be the final piece of the puzzle that will ensure the victim’s positive identification.
In Appendix 5 woven bones were discussed – bones that are healing after a break or fracture; this type of bone can help identify the victim if the victim’s medical history is available. For example, if the victim had a broken pelvis and x-rays of the break were available to the examiner, then the examiner could match the bone break from the x-ray to the pelvis in front of them, by looking at which stage in the mending process the bone is, and whether the break is in the same location. By the same token, damage to the bone through diseases such as polio and osteoporosis (brittle bone disease) etc can also help to identify victims, and any problems such as abscesses on the bone, or evidence of joint trouble (even the presence of orthopaedic implants in the knee) may point to the occurrence of sports-related injuries or unrelated (to the victim’s death) accidents. All of these injuries can be matched up to a victim if they are spotted and identified correctly. Spotting and identifying them takes years of experience, as Walsh (2002) explains. For example, identifying whether a knife stabbed into the victim at the time of death caused a mark or whether that mark was inflicted by lawn mower blades hitting the bones months or years after death can only come from the experience of years spent evaluating thousands of bones - whether in a morgue, laboratory, or in a museum. This is why pathologists and other forensic specialists rely upon the expertise of forensic anthropologists, as their analysis can uncover evidence of trauma that occurred around the time of death that would otherwise be missed completely or misinterpreted by the untrained, especially as skeletal trauma analysis is such a time consuming process (see Fig. 22 for table of broken bones).
Figure 22: Fractures and Their Causes, Winson, T. (2004)
Another reason forensic anthropologists are so important is because they are trained to evaluate and recognise how environmental conditions alter the appearance and composition of bone over the span of time since death. For example, the untrained eye could mistake the chaffing or erosion of the braincase by water or wind for a wound that occurred at the time of death. Similarly, conical depressions and tiny parallel grooves could be interpreted as knife wounds, but may actually be tooth marks from carnivores or rodents, respectively. Thus, skeletal trauma analysis differentiates between patterns of violent trauma caused by a weapon at the time of death and fracturing or breakage caused by animals or weathering after death. All of this personal information and the individual differences in skeletons are useful because it allows victims to be identified and it also allows their families to know what happened to them after their death.
5.1 Carbon Dating
Anthropologists can also date the bones using their “carbon 14 signature”. This allows them to determine how long the victim has been dead for, which can also assist in identification of the victim, which Porter, (2004) explains:
All plants and animals are made up of chemicals that contain three types of carbon atoms or isotopes. The most common isotope is carbon 12. Carbon 12 accounts for about 99% of all the carbon atoms found in plants or animals (or in this case, the victim’s bones). Another isotope is carbon 13, which comprises about 1% of the total. The third isotope (and the most important in terms of dating bones) is carbon 14. It is found in only tiny amounts compared to carbon 12. In a living plant or animal there is only about one carbon 14 atom for every trillion carbon 12 atoms.
Carbon (C12, C13 and C14) is acquired by plants from carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere – animals and people then get their carbon by breathing in CO2 and by eating plants and other animals. The result is that all living things have a specific ratio of carbon 12 and carbon 14 isotopes. In general, it is the same ratio that is found in the atmosphere. This ratio begins to change, however, when a plant or animal dies, as it is therefore no longer taking in carbon from nature. Carbon 14, unlike carbon 12 and carbon 13, is radioactive. This means that over time the carbon 14 atoms will decay. When the isotope that is carbon 14 decays, it gives off a beta particle and in doing so becomes nitrogen 14. However, the amount of carbon 12 and carbon 13 remains constant.
The half-life of different isotopes range from fractions of a second to millions of years. The half-life of carbon 14 is 5730 years. This means that in 5730 years, half of the carbon 14 atoms will have become nitrogen 14. In the next 5730 years, half of the remaining carbon 14 will have decayed (see Fig. 23).
Figure 23: Carbon 14 Ageing as taken from Porter (2007)
As you can see from the table above, if one is able to measure the percentage of carbon 14 that remains in a sample then one can determine its age. The only stipulation is that the object must be less than 50,000 years old, which is pretty irrelevant in modern forensic cases, but in older cases (for example the ice-age mummies in Peru) can cause problems.
Carbon dating is an important tool that, along with individual features of the bones can be used to identify a victim, even if that victim is from a case that had previously gone “cold”.
Chapter 6: Mass Fatality Incidents
Earlier, the role of the forensic anthropologist in cases where there was only one victim was discussed, but how does their role differ in larger incidents (for example mass graves)? In this chapter the differences in techniques will be outlined using two cases: 9/11 and the Tri-State Cemetery Disaster.
When only an individual is concerned, though they are no less important, if the quality of the work and the final report is poor, only the individual and the anthropologist are affected, but the damage is, at least, localised. In large-scale operations, the organisation itself publishes the report and bears the primary responsibility for the quality of the work. Poor work reflects upon the entire organisation and may affect whole communities and even nations. Because of this, large-scale operations usually publish standards for work and safety, whereby adherence to the code is a contractual obligation for the employee.
Whereas single sets of bones are usually worked upon by a lone forensic anthropologist, larger cases require more personnel, more teamwork, a larger infrastructure and a command structure. One such organisation is The National Funeral Directors Association (set up by volunteers in the 1980’s who recognised the need for efficient processing of bodies following mass fatality incidents), and out of this organisation, DMORT has grown. DMORT is the Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team. DMORT work with a “portable morgue” and have a conveyer belt system (Ramey-Burns, 2007). When a case only involves a single set of bones, although the skeleton may be disarticulated, it is more likely than not that all bones belong to the same skeleton. In cases of mass fatalities, however, the bones are all commingled which presents anthropologists in such cases with a much larger challenge. To accommodate this, anthropologists have different preliminary checks to carry out before they can begin the previously discussed determinations (race, sex, age, stature), and these preliminary checks are described in this chapter.
6.1 Cases
The first case example is that of the Tri-State Crematory Disaster. Tommy Marsh, who disagreed with the deeply religious ruling of the Deep South that cremation was wrong, set up the Marsh Family Crematorium in the mid 1970’s. Due to ill health on his part, his son, Ray Brent Marsh took over the business in the mid 1990’s, but failed to carry on his father’s good work. In 2002, the propane delivery truck-driver discovered a skull on the property. Investigators arrived at the scene only to discover 339 corpses scattered about the property. Some were in the crematory supplies room, others stacked in the woods behind the property, whilst still more were buried in a crude mass grave 83 yards from Brent Marsh’s back door. Brent Marsh had been sending the families boxes of concrete powder, instead of their loved ones’ ashes.
So many bodies were found and were spread out over such a large area that stakes were placed as markers. A mobile morgue was also brought in to deal with the number of bodies, and this helped quicken the process of identification considerably. Identifying the victims was naturally a hard task, but factors such as the presence of tattoos helped the team.
In all, 214 bodies were successfully identified and Marsh was sentenced to 75 years in prison. Three factors are attributed to fact that 125 bodies were left unidentified; first, many were at the end of the line. Second: the cultural backwater of Walker County, “They don’t understand DNA, won’t give it” said one officer. Third, many of the people were afraid of what secrets might surface, like one woman who feared her husband would find out their daughter wasn’t his real daughter (Carter, 2007).
The commanders of the disaster sites of mass fatalities are the local law enforcement, who have control of the scene, and the medical examiner, who is in charge of the dead. DMORT personnel are selected based on their area of speciality. A standard deployment is two weeks with no time off. Teams work seven days a week in twelve-hour shifts. Most morgues operate only one shift per day, but operations such as 9/11 ran non-stop on two shifts per day until the work was complete. As 9/11 is such an infamous case there is no need to go into too much detail surrounding what happened. Suffice it to say that 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial jets and intentionally crashed them into the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers. 2,973 people died, plus the 19 terrorists.
The role of the forensic anthropologist in disaster operations is to work in both field recovery and morgue operations. In cases such as 9/11 there was so much co-mingling and disarticulation of the bodies that survived that this job was made particularly difficult. Ideally, each body will be placed into a body bag and transported to the morgue to be processed as a single unit. In reality, however, each body bag may contain bones from several bodies, only part of a body or even bones that are not human at all. In the case of 9/11 many bones were simply waste from nearby restaurants, not victims.
6.2 Morgue Processes
In the morgue, the work of the anthropologist is standard laboratory analysis as discussed in previous chapters (see Fig. 24 for a summary of the duties).
Figure 24: List of Duties as Summarised from the NioJ Special Report on MFI’s:
- Evaluate and document the condition of the remains
- Separate obviously co-mingled remains and calculate the maximum number of individuals
- Analyse the remains to determine sex, age at death, race, stature, trauma and disease conditions
- Determine the need for additional analysis by other disciplines (e.g. radiology, odontology)
- Maintain a log of incomplete remains to facilitate re-association
- Document, remove and save non-human/non-biological materials for proper disposal
- Obtain DNA samples
- Interpret radiographs
- Compare ante mortem and post mortem records
- Maintain communication with the other identification specialists
The only duty that is out of the ordinary in the above list is the logging of the incomplete remains, as in an archaeological lab, everything is laid out for repeated viewing, but in a disaster scene, there is possibly only one chance to view and analyse each component before it is packaged and stored. Bodies in temporary morgue stations are processed in sequence: admission (section responsible for the chain of custody of remains and all associated materials), photographed and personal effects removed (essentially part of the admission process, contents of body bag are photographed and all personal effects are removed, documented and stored), radiographed (whole body radiographed which may give first real view of remains as they may be too charred or obscured by mud or other debris to see clearly), autopsy (pathologists perform autopsy and try to determine cause and manner of death), anthropological examination, odontological examination, fingerprinted, DNA identification performed, bodies are embalmed and casketed, the DMORT team input all the relevant information into their Information Resource Centre (IRC) – a computer programmed designed to match post mortem records with ante mortem records. From this tentative identifications can be selected for further comparison and then hopefully positive identification can be made so that finally, the body can be released to their family (Ramey-Burns, 2007).
As is evident from cases discussed in this chapter, mass fatality incidents present enormous challenges to all those involved. Resources are often strained beyond their limits and as stress levels run high, unwarranted conflict and irrational decisions often occur. The only way to stop a bad situation from worsening is through thorough advance planning and preparation. It’s not easy to prepare for the unknown, and it’s hard for governments to find the incentive where there is no immediate threat.
However, experience is worth paying attention to, and national disaster plans work fairly well because they have paid attention to previous events: professionals are hired and trained before they are needed, a good communication network is in place, disaster teams and their infrastructure are ready for immediate deployment, the employers and families of team members are prepared, and the whole system is maintained and strengthened through annual meetings, continued education and regular newsletters (Kahana & Hiss, 2009).
Chapter 7: Conclusion – Evaluation of Current Techniques, and the Future of Forensic Anthropology
This chapter is going to evaluate current anthropological techniques and look at the future of forensic anthropology. To begin with it would seem that forensic anthropology does not have enough legal weight. As anthropologists are merely seen as “expert witnesses” they cannot legally state the cause of death, their opinion is just taken into consideration by the forensic pathologist. As is evident from this piece, this is clearly strongly contested, as if, for example, a victim has been shot in the head, and the body is so far decomposed that it is skeletonised, an anthropologist can easily tell if the shot was fatal by looking to see if the bone has healed, or at least, begun the healing process. Anthropologists should be able to legally determine the cause of death in situations such as this. Because there are so few forensic anthropologists (there are less than 100 in the United States and less in the United Kingdom), it has been seen as a rather unstructured field that is more archaeology based than anything else, and this has made it appear as a ‘dusty’ subject. More recently, television programmes such as “Bones” and books by authors such as Kathy Reichs and Sue Black (both anthropologists) have brought forensic anthropology in to the public conscience. Although “Bones” is more factually accurate than its forensic investigation counterpart, “CSI”, it is still flawed, and can give the public and the legal profession an unrealistic view of what forensic anthropology is and what it can achieve (especially to do with time-scales!). Forensic anthropology can tell someone’s’ stature, their sex, race, age and any diseases or accidents that may have befallen the victim. It can even determine the cause of death, but all of these discoveries take time, and none are guaranteed – they are dependent on the condition of the bones (i.e. fragmented bones or incomplete skeletons), the skill of the anthropologist and the amount of time and money available to the anthropologist and relevant organisation(s). Foremost amongst these problems is quality control. There are no licenses and in some areas, naïve law enforcement can mistake a wannabe for a competently trained forensic anthropologist. Forensic anthropology requires years of training to become fully qualified. Forensic anthropologists are experienced osteologists - remember. They usually hold a PhD but many also have a Master's degree in anthropology. Only in rare cases do some hold a Bachelor's degree and these forensic anthropologists typically have years of extensive training nonetheless.
Aside from the worrying notion of someone without the necessary training posing as an expert, current anthropological techniques work, in my opinion, very well. The amount of information about a person (or culture with the more historic cases) that can be obtained by examining a skeleton is phenomenal. To be able to tell someone’s age from a fragment of ankle bone that hadn’t fused (as in an area of the ankle, two bones fuse together, beginning at the age of 17 and reaching completion at the age of 19) is amazing (BBC News, 2004). Anthropological techniques allow justice to be done where there would otherwise be none, due to a lack of evidence, and free us from a situation in which the guilty would walk free.
Due to constant technological advancements, anthropology is becoming increasingly more developed and computer programmes are able to speed up the investigative process. The fact that programmes such as “Bones” and even “CSI” have proved so popular means that many students are now opting to study forensic anthropology and other forensic subjects where before they would have studied archaeology or law etc. This means that as more and more people join the anthropological field, more and more advancements can be made as fresh eyes look at old and sometimes outdated techniques. For example, the Suchey-Brookes system replaced the Todd system in the 1970’s. Todd’s system had been used since the 1920’s, but Suchey and Brookes realised that Todd’s work was no longer relevant as larger samples had been tested and more information had become available.
It is clear that if a greater number of younger people with a passion for justice and truth join the forensic anthropological profession there will be a) more opinions and greater subject knowledge, b) fresh ideas and new and innovative ways to perform the delicate operations of forensic anthropology.
It takes years of training to become a fully qualified professional anthropologist, and unfortunately institutional resources are shrinking, meaning that whilst there are a growing number of students yearning to study forensic anthropology, the numbers of people able to provide such services are struggling to cope. Forensic anthropology is a laboratory-based subject, and therefore only so much can be learnt from textbooks and skeleton casts – these students need hands-on training from experts with years of experience. This is a solvable dilemma, but it will take time and money, not to mention new skeleton collections to replace those that have been lost.
Overall it would seem that the future of forensic anthropology is a bright one. It is important to note, however, that a reliance on computers could mean that although processes become quicker, the hand-worked quality of diagrams or facial reconstructions, for example, could be lost - and as a result the work could become more generic, which could mean that cases of mistaken identity become more prevalent. As long as there is a continued interest in the field, it seems that budgets for training will become bigger and the field will be consistently improved until it garners the legal and public acceptance and respect that it truly deserves.
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Appendices
Appendix 1: History of Anthropology
The first use of the word “anthropology” in English to refer to the natural sciences of humanity was in 1593, however, Harris (2000) indicates two major frameworks within which empirical anthropology has arisen: interest in comparisons of people over space, and interest in long-term human processes or humans as viewed through time. Harris dates both of these back to Classical Greece and Classical Rome, paying special interest to Herodotus, (a Greek historian in the 5th century BC) who has since been dubbed the “father of history” in the West. He is the first historian known to have collected his materials systematically, tested their accuracy to a certain extent and noted down his findings in a structured narrative. Harris also notes the Roman historian Tacitus, who is responsible for writing many of our only surviving accounts of Celtic and Germanic peoples in the 1st century AD. Anthropology continued to be studied by medieval scholars, who researched and detailed the customs of peoples who they considered to be different from themselves in terms of geography. The next candidates are Marco Polo (Hubbard, 1994) and Abu-Rayhan Biruni (a Persian scholar). Polo wrote about how the “systematic observations of nature, anthropology, and geography are another example of studying human variation across space” (Hubbard, 1994), whilst Biruni wrote about “the peoples, customs and religions of the Indian subcontinent” (Akbar, 1984, pp. 9-10).
Most modern scholars define the source of modern anthropology as an outgrowth to the Age of Enlightenment, a time when Europeans attempted to systematically study human behaviour and its differences. The Age of Enlightenment started simultaneously in the 17th century in England, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Spain and Portugal; but it had been growing since the 15th century and was buoyed by the success of the American Revolution (when America broke free from the rule of the British Empire). Differences in human behaviours had been consistently detailed and the number had been increasing due to the European colonisation of continents such as Australia and many of the Pacific Islands.
Anthropology began to emerge as a subject in its own right around this time, veering away from Natural History (which was becoming popular among the upper classes) and it has steadily grown since - stretching out many branches along the way.
The main branches of anthropology are: cultural anthropology, linguistic anthropology, archaeology and biological anthropology. Cultural anthropology focuses on the “morals, traditions, arts and customs of a society” (Bose, 2009).
Cultural anthropology is transferred over generations through words and symbols, allowing us to try to understand the logic behind cultural norms i.e. the scarring of bodies in some African tribes. Linguistic anthropology is the study of how humans have evolved both physically and mentally to understand sounds and produce words – ultimately allowing us to continue cultures over generations. Archaeology deals with studying the physical remains of a culture, from bones or clay urns to the pyramids. These allow us to understand more about the beliefs and traditions of a community or civilisation. Biological anthropology deals with “tracing the biological origins, evolutionary changes and genetic diversity of the human species and primates” (Bose, 2009), thus enabling us to see a clear picture of the biological changes that have occurred over the journey of our evolution from apes. Other disciplines include: medical anthropology, ecological anthropology and, of course, forensic anthropology.
Forensic anthropology is a relatively young discipline, but its roots in biological anthropology are far-reaching. Anthropologists have been fascinated by the anatomical collections of museums and universities for years, and they were noting skeletal differences long before there was any legal interest in their knowledge.
Ramey-Burns (2007) notes that although there is no exact start date for the study of human skeletons - there is a firm date for the first use of skeletal information in a court of law: the 1850 Webster vs. Parkman trial. Dr. George Parkman was a physician from one of the wealthiest families in Boston, whilst John Webster was an unpopular professor at Harvard Medical College. Webster owed Parkman nearly $2500 and had no real means to repay this. On the 23rd November 1849 Parkman agreed to meet Webster at the medical college at 1.30pm. It was the last time he was ever seen alive. Investigators later discovered dismembered body parts in the privy of Webster’s private lab. Oliver Wendell Holmes and Jeffries Wyman (two Harvard anatomists) were called to identify and examine the remains, whilst a dentist was called to identify dentures found in the furnace. These dentures were found to belong to Parkman, and the body parts were examined and found to have the same markings and extreme hairiness that George Parkman had. The anatomists were also able to determine the stature of the person from the body parts, and these fitted the size of Parkman as well. Webster was found guilty and hanged on August 30th 1850.
Appendix 2: History of Anthropology in the UK
Earlier, the history of anthropology in general was discussed; now, the history of anthropology in the United Kingdom will be discussed. A detailed history has never been written, but noted anthropologist Sue Black provided an overview in 2006. The application of biological anthropology in a forensic setting first started in the UK in 1935 with the case of Doctor Buck Ruxton. Dr. Ruxton was a Parshi doctor who moved from Bombay to England in the 1930’s and married the popular Isabella Kerr, with whom he had three children. Dr. Ruxton became increasingly jealous of how popular Isabella was with Lancaster’s elite and became convinced she was having an affair (no evidence of infidelity was ever found). This jealousy culminated on the 15th September 1935, when he strangled Isabella with his bare hands, before suffocating their housemaid, Mary Jane Rogerson, to stop her from calling the police. He then dismembered and mutilated both bodies in an attempt to conceal their identities.
Various human remains were found dumped in a stream over a hundred miles away, wrapped in newspaper (the Daily Herald, dated the 6th and 31st August 1935, and the Sunday Graphic, dated the 15th September). Unfortunately for Ruxton, one of the newspapers he had chosen to use was a special 'slip' edition (available only to customers with subscriptions) of the Sunday Graphic that was sold only in the Morecambe and Lancaster areas. Whilst this helped investigators narrow down the suspect list, it was forensic anthropology, entomology and fingerprint identification that helped the police legally identify the bodies. Forensic anthropology was used to superimpose photographs of the victims’ heads over photographs of the victims’ skulls (Blundell, 1950).
Half a century later, forensic anthropologists came into their own again. The remains of a small boy, Stephen Jennings, were found in Gormesal, West Yorkshire by a man walking his terrier in 1988 (Stephen had gone missing in 1962 - 26 years earlier). His father, William, had reported him missing at the time and he was the prime suspect as the police had had many reports of suspicious injuries to Stephen before and at the time of his disappearance. Anthropologists examining the remains found that one of the wrists had been fractured. Not long before his disappearance, Stephen had had a broken wrist. Another clue was that the only item of clothing found with the remains was a well-preserved pair of sandals, which exactly matched the description of those that Stephen Jennings was known to have been wearing on the day of his disappearance. Because of these anthropological clues and findings, police were eventually able to secure a confession from Jennings by allowing him to believe they had all the evidence needed to convict him. Jennings’ claimed he had hit his son for soiling the bed, and that the following fall down the stairs was an accident, but anthropologists, again, refuted this claim. They testified that the only way the injuries could have occurred was through prolonged and intense violence, and also stated that Stephen’s horrific injuries would have killed him anyway (Crime Museum UK).
Appendix 3: History of Osteology
Osteology used to be considered a part of the study of anatomy. Pfieffer (2001) describes how its stance has changed over the past 150 years. In 1871, when Sir Daniel Wilson (a British-born Canadian archaeologist and first president of the University of Toronto) published his report on the Huron crania (a skull found in a cave by Lake Huron), the world still saw his report on human morphology as part of the study of anatomy. However, the interest in skeletal anatomy was inspired by a suspicion that the shape and size of a bone (especially the skull) could be used to determine if the similarities between physical features and behaviours was genetic. Gradually, scholars began to move osteology into the field of anthropology, and their previous assumptions about hereditary inheritance became explicit. Pfiffer states, “Indeed, the term physical anthropology reflects this reliance on morphology to tell us about relationships and life history”, which paves the way for the age-old debate on nature versus nurture, of culture versus biology.
Pfieffer urges that people understand that “human osteology is not simply a lexicon of morphology and a set of predictive tools, but is the vehicle through which a unique line of questions can be answered” as she has found that many people just want to play with the bones without really caring for learning anything from them. She goes on to point out that osteology is based on theory, as well as method and that that theory has its roots in Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, which was itself informed by developmental biology and genetics. She finishes by summarising that although osteologists cannot make sweeping statements about someone’s habits, they can extrapolate behaviours and “flesh out” the person (alongside anthropologists) by coming to conclusions based on anomalies in the bones.
Appendix 4: Table of Connective Tissue Types
Appendix 5: Connective Tissue Fibre Types and Functions
There are many forms of connective tissue, but they all consist of numerous cells surrounded by an extra cellular matrix of fibrous and ground substance. The fibre types are collagenous (collagen is a naturally occurring protein and is the main protein of connective tissues. It’s also the most abundant, accounting for 25% to 35% of the whole body protein content), elastic (bundles of flexible proteins found in the extra cellular matrix, they can stretch up to 1.5 times their length and snap back when relaxed with ease) and reticular (formed of a type of collagen, reticular fibres cross link to form a meshwork of fibres which act as a supporting mesh for soft tissues such as the liver and bone marrow). The general functions of connective tissues are: support (in areas that require durable flexibility), hydration (and maintenance of body fluids), attachment (of various body parts to one another), protection (of bones and joints during activity) and encasement (of organs and groups of structures).
Connective tissue has two main types of tissue: loose and dense. Dense connective tissue holds everything together and is capable of providing enormous tensile strength. Dense connective tissue is subdivided into irregular, regular and elastic dense connective tissue. Irregular forms the fibrous capsules surrounding kidneys, nerves, bones and muscles. Elastic dense connective tissue makes up the vocal cords and some of the ligaments connecting adjacent vertebrae whilst regular dense connective tissue forms the ligaments, tendons, and fascia. Ligaments connect bone to bone and cartilage, and are bands of fibrous tissue. Tendons attach muscle to bone and are narrower than ligaments. Fascia encases muscles, groups of muscles and large vessels and nerves and binds them together.
A looser type of connective tissue is cartilage, but it is also flexible. Cartilage is made up primarily of water (about 60% to 80%), which makes it extremely resilient. It’s a very good cushion as it springs back into shape easily. However, it’s not resistant to twisting and bending (which is why there are so many sports injuries) and it contains no blood vessels. Whilst it’s resilient and capable of fast growth (because there’s no need for slow vascular formation), it has very little capacity for regeneration in adults. There are three types of cartilage that osteologists are interested in: hyaline (this caps the end of bones, shapes the nose, forms the facial skeleton, completes the ribcage and provides a model for new bone growth), elastic (this is hyaline cartilage with elastic fibres added and forms the external ear and epiglottis, which is a flap of cartilage connected to the root of the tongue) and fibrocartilage (which is embedded in dense collagenous tissue and forms the vertebral discs, the interpubic joint, joint capsules, tendon intersections and related ligaments).
The loosest type of connective tissue is bone, although there are two basic types present in an adult skeleton: dense and spongy. Dense bone is also known as “compact”, “lamellar” or “cortical” bone. It’s made up of concentric lamellar osteons and interstitial lamellae that provide strength and resistance to torsion. Dense bone forms the bone cortex, which is the main portion of the shaft surrounding the medullary (spinal cord) cavity.
Spongy bone is also called “cancellous” or “trabecular” bone and is characterised by thin, bony trabeculae (small, beam-like type of tissue), which create a latticework filled with bone marrow of embryonal connective tissue
There is a third type of bone, which is woven bone. This doesn’t occur in the healthy adult body though; it occurs when bone has been broken or fractured and it stitches itself back together again.
Appendix 6: The Hyoid Bone and Ossicles
Ossicles:
Hyoid Bone:
Appendix 7: The Frankfort Plane
When a bare skull is placed on a flat surface, it appears to be looking upwards, which is obviously not helpful when trying to identify individuals, as it’s not how the person would have carried their skull in life. The Frankfort Plane, therefore, is the internationally decreed anatomical position of the human skull. It was accepted as a worldwide standard in 1877 by the International Congress of Anthropologists in Frankfort, Germany. It is a line that passes from the highest point of the ear canals (the orbitales) through to the lowest point of the eye sockets (the porions), and it’s the point at which the skull was mostly parallel to the earth, and to the position at which the skull would have been carried in life. Note that in the normal subject, both orbitales and both porions lie in a single plane. However, due to racial and individual pathology, this is not always the case. The formal definition specifies only the three points listed above, to be sufficient to describe a plane in three-dimensional space.
With the Frankfort Plane allowing anthropologists to have a standard to work with on skull angles, craniometric points could be named and described…
Appendix 8: Forensic Facial Reconstruction
There are three types of forensic facial reconstruction: two dimensional, three dimensional, and superimposition (as mentioned briefly in Chapter 2 and the case of Buck Ruxton).
Two-dimensional facial reconstructions are based on post mortem photographs of the victim, and anthropological analysis of the skull. Usually, an artist and a forensic anthropologist undertake this method.
In the past, tissue depth markers were glued to an unidentified skull at key points – this work was mostly based on examples from the early twentieth century, when tissue depth measurements were taken from cadavers. These measurements are, however, biased, as tissue is not the same in depth in death as it was in life, and because the sample was quite small and did not focus on the varied populations and ages of our society. The finished product is a hand-drawn approximation on transparent vellum. More recently, computer programmes have been developed, such as F.A.C.E, which can quickly render 2D facial approximations that can be easily edited.
Whilst this can help speed up the reconstruction process and allow subtle variations to be applied to the drawing, it also produces more generic images than the hand-drawn artwork (LibraryQuest.Org).
Three-dimensional facial reconstructions are either sculptures (made from casts of the cranial remains) created with modelling clay, or high-resolution, 3D computer images. As with 2D reconstructions, 3D reconstructions usually require both an artist and a forensic anthropologist. Computer software renders 3D reconstructions by amalgamating scanned photographs of the unidentified cranial remains with stock photos of facial features. These computer approximations are usually the most effective in victim identification because they do not appear too artificial
The third technique, superimposition, is a technique that isn’t always included because investigators must already have some kind of knowledge about the identity of the skeletal remains with which they are dealing (as opposed to 2D and 3D reconstructions, when the identity of the skeletal remains are generally completely unknown). Forensic superimpositions are created by superimposing a photograph of an individual suspected of belonging to the unidentified skeletal remains over an x-ray of the unidentified skull. If the skull and the photograph are of the same individual, then the anatomical features of the face should align accurately (Evison, 1996).
There are two types of identification that can be made from these 3 techniques: circumstantial and positive (Ramey-Burns, 2007).
Circumstantial identification occurs when an individual fits the biological profile of a set of skeletal remains. This type of identification fails to verify identity because any number of individuals may fit the same biological description. Positive identification, on the other hand, is established when the unique set of biological characteristics of an individual is matched with a set of skeletal remains. This type of identification requires the skeletal remains to correspond with medical or dental records, unique ante mortem wounds and DNA analysis.
Facial reconstruction is useful because it presents investigators and family members involved in criminal cases concerning unidentified remains with a unique alternative, when all other identification techniques have failed - facial approximations often provide the stimuli that eventually lead to the positive identification of remains.
However, it must be said that when multiple forensic artists produce approximations for the same set of skeletal remains, no two reconstructions are ever the same, and the data from which the approximations are created is largely incomplete. Because of this, forensic facial reconstruction fails to uphold the Daubert Standard (a legal standard set in 1993 in the Supreme Court pertaining to admissibility of expert witness testimony in court) and so is not included as one of the legally recognised techniques for positive identification, and therefore is inadmissible as expert witness testimony.
Currently, reconstructions are only produced to aid the process of positive identification in conjunction with other verified methods, such as the ones previously discussed.