Understanding Bioarchaeology and Forensic Anthropology Concepts

Name: Course: Section: Date: 185 CONCEPT REVIEW QUESTIONS Answer the following questions in the space provided. 1. Define bioarchaeology. 2. Define forensic anthropology. 3. What is the first step in analyzing skeletal remains in both bioarchaeological and forensic contexts? A. Determine the minimum number of individuals B. Determine the sex of each individual C. Calculate the postmortem interval D. Distinguish between human and animal bone 4. After skeletal remains have been identified as human, what step usually comes next in bioarchaeology and forensic investigations? A. Identify pathology in each individual B. Determine the age at death for each individual C. Determine the minimum number of individuals D. Determine the sex of each individual 5. Describe a method for aging a juvenile skeleton. Be sure to note which bone or bones are necessary for this method. 6. Describe a method for aging an adult skeleton. Be sure to note which bone or bones are necessary for this method. 7. Name one bone that is useful in determining sex. 8. What bone or bones are best suited for stature estimates? Why? 9. Describe the difference between “manner of death” and “cause of death.” 10. True or false? Antemortem pathology is pathology that occurs around the time of death and may have contributed to death.

Name: Course: Section: Date: 187 LAB EXERCISES EXERCISE 1 ANIMAL OR HUMAN? Work with a small group or alone to complete this exercise. Review the skeletal material provided by your instructor (or the image in the lab Appendix) and answer the questions below. 1. Which of the skeletal elements is human? 2. Describe one trait that helped you make this distinction: EXERCISE 2 MINIMUM NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS Work with a small group or alone to complete this exercise. Refer to the skeletal material provided by your instructor (or the mystery assemblage in the lab Appendix) to answer the questions below. 1. List the bones depicted. (Be as specific as possible, including the side of the body that the bone is from, if applicable.) 2. What is the minimum number of individuals in this assemblage? EXERCISE 3 AGING Work with a small group or alone to complete this exercise. Review the skeletal material provided by your instructor (or the images in the text or lab Appendix) to answer the questions below. 1. Examine the X-ray of a juvenile upper and lower jaw in Figure 7.9 and compare it to the dental eruption age stages in Figure 7.10. What is the approximate age of this individual? 2. Examine the skeletal material, which is from a female and shows the symphyseal face of the pubis (see lab Appendix). Compare this to the Suchey–Brooks age stages provided in Figure 7.11 of the text. What is the approximate age of this individual?

188 Name: Date: LAB 7 | Bioarchaeology and Forensic Anthropology EXERCISE 4 SEXING Work with a small group or alone to complete this exercise. Review the skeletal material provided by your instructor (or the images in the lab Appendix) and answer the questions below. 1. Which cranium is female? 2. Describe two cranial sexing traits you used to make this determination. 3. Which pelvis is female? 4. Describe two pelvic sexing traits you used to make this determination. EXERCISE 5 ANCESTRY Work with a small group or alone to complete this exercise. Refer to the skeletal material provided by your instructor (or the images in the lab Appendix) to answer the questions below. 1. Which individual has shovel-shaped incisors? 2. Which individual has a malar tubercle? 3. What might these two traits indicate about these individuals’ ancestry? 4. Are these two traits alone enough to make an ancestry determination? Why or why not?

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189 Lab Exercises Name: Date: EXERCISE 6 STATURE Work with a small group or alone to complete this exercise. Review the skeletal material provided by your instructor (or the description below) and answer the question. 1. A forensic anthropologist has determined that a female victim has a maximum femur length of 49.5 cm. The anthro- pologist also determined the victim is of African ancestry. Using the table of equations to estimate stature from long bones provided in the text, estimate this individual’s stature. (Be sure to give the estimation in feet and inches, using the conversion information provided in the text.) EXERCISE 7 PATHOLOGY Work with a small group or alone to complete this exercise. Review the skeletal material provided by your instructor (or the images in the lab Appendix) and answer the questions for each scenario below. SCENARIO A 1. What bone is this? 2. What pathology is indicated on this bone? 3. Describe one trait you used to make this pathology identification. 4. Is this pathology antemortem or perimortem?

190 Name: Date: LAB 7 | Bioarchaeology and Forensic Anthropology SCENARIO B 1. What bone is this? 2. What pathology is indicated on this bone? 3. Describe one trait you used to make this pathology identification. 4. Is this pathology antemortem or perimortem? EXERCISE 8 TYING IT ALL TOGETHER Work with a small group or alone to complete this exercise. A collection of skeletal remains has just been unearthed at a crime scene. You have been asked to help law enforcement officials in their investigation of this skeletal material. Refer to the skeletal material provided by your instructor (or the mystery forensic assemblage in the lab Appendix) to answer the questions below. 1. Is any of this skeletal material nonhuman? If so, which bone is nonhuman? Why do you think this? 2. List all of the human skeletal elements, being as specific as possible. What is the minimum number of individuals (MNI) represented? 3. Does any of the skeletal material appear to be juvenile? If so, which bone(s)? Why do you think this?

191 Lab Exercises Name: Date: 4. Can any of the skeletal material be used to determine the biological sex of the victim(s)? If so, which bone(s)? What is the sex you determined? What evidence supports that conclusion? 5. Bone I in the assemblage has been measured with an osteometric board. It has a maximum length of 35.7 cm. You have determined the individual is of European ancestry. Based on this information and what you know about this person’s sex, what is the estimated stature of this individual? (Be sure to give the estimation in feet and inches.) 6. Based on the materials recovered, can you make any suggestions for additional analyses you might use to further understand the circumstances surrounding the death of the victim(s)?

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193 CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS On a separate sheet of paper, answer the following questions. 1. This question may be completed independently or as a group discussion. You have been asked to examine a bioarchaeological assemblage. You have identified the bones and made the following list of the material: • 1 left femur with unfused epiphyses • 1 right femur with fused epiphyses • 2 adult sacrums • 1 cranium with extensive tooth wear • 1 mandible with some teeth erupted and others unerupted What is the minimum number of individuals for this assemblage? 2. This question may be completed independently or as a group discussion. Why are age estimates for adults less accurate than age estimates for juveniles? 3. This question may be completed independently or as a group discussion. In Exercise 6, you determined the stature of an individual based on femur measurements. Imagine that you also recovered this individual’s right humerus. The maximum length of the humerus is 35.1 cm. What is the individual’s estimated stature based on the humerus data? (Again, use the table of equations to estimate stature from long bones provided in the text and be sure to convert your estimate into feet and inches.) Is this consistent with the estimation you made based on the femur measurement? Why or why not? 4. What is the difference between antemortem pathology and perimortem pathology? Why must a forensic anthro- pologist be able to distinguish between the two types of pathology? 5. How are forensic anthropology and bioarchaeology similar? How are they different? 6. Following the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, numerous forensic anthropolo- gists were called on to help with identifying victims. Using information in your classroom, online, or in books, an- swer the questions that follow. What types of analysis did the forensic anthropologists conduct in this situation? What impact did this work have on the investigation? What impact did this work have on the broader community (such as the city of New York’s medical examiner’s office or the field of forensic anthropology in general)? 7. This question may be completed independently or as a group discussion. Imagine that you are working with a team of bioarchaeologists that have just excavated a medieval cemetery site in Italy. The cemetery has over 200 graves, with all sexes and ages represented in the skeletal sample. You are interested in knowing whether there were gender differences in health among the medieval community. How would you answer this question from the skeletal remains? What analyses would you need to conduct with the skeletons, and what health indicators might you look for in the bones?

194 LAB 7 | Bioarchaeology and Forensic Anthropology 8. A team of forensic anthropologists (named Julia and Marco) have identified the following skeletal remains as belonging to the same individual. Both anthropologists have examined the pelvis and cranium for indicators of the victim’s biological sex. Julia argues the individual was male, but Marco argues the individual was female. Review the skeletal material depicted here. Why might the anthropologists disagree? Which anthropologist do you think is correct? Provide evidence from the skeletal material to support your conclusion. 9. This question may be completed independently or as a group discussion. As part of a forensic analysis, you have been asked to determine an individual’s ancestry using skeletal indicators. The metric measurements you collect indicate the individual is of European ancestry, but you see several nonmetric traits in the cranium that are typically found in individuals of Asian ancestry. Why might the two methods disagree? Be sure to consider the differences between metric and nonmetric traits as well as other factors that might contribute to individual skeletal variation. L. Bassett/Visuals Unlimited, Inc. John Davis/Getty Images

Appendix: Lab Exercise Images 195 APPENDIX: LAB EXERCISE IMAGES Exercise 1 Animal or Human Exercise 2 Minimum Number of Individuals A B Courtesy of Ashley Lipp Courtesy of Ashley Lipp Courtesy of Ashley Lipp

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196 LAB 7 | Bioarchaeology and Forensic Anthropology Exercise 3 Aging Exercise 4 Sexing Courtesy of Ashley Lipp A B Robert Marien/Corbis

Appendix: Lab Exercise Images 197 Exercise 5 Ancestry A Individual A B Individual B Courtesy of Ashley Lipp Courtesy of Ashley Lipp Courtesy of Ashley Lipp Courtesy of Ashley Lipp Courtesy of Ashley Lipp Donald J. Ortner

198 LAB 7 | Bioarchaeology and Forensic Anthropology Exercise 7 Pathology Scenario A: Signs of disease or stress on bone Scenario B: Signs of disease or stress on bone Courtesy of Ashley Lipp Individual A Individual B Courtesy of Ashley Lipp Bone Clones/boneclones.com Courtesy of Tiffiny Tung

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Appendix: Lab Exercise Images 199 Exercise 8 Tying It All Together A B C D H I E F G Courtesy of Ashley Lipp

Lab 7

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