#using bones

[theenduser]

[fantasticallyfactualforensics]

How would you ID a skeleton if you can't go by dental records (say, if the skull is missing)? Is that a thing forensics does?

Sherls and Watson would like to apologize for the unexpectedmini-hiatus, the holidays caught up with us and this blog got put in thebackburner for a while. But now we are back!!!

Thanks Nonnie for sending in this ask. It is superinteresting to find out how much information can be given with just bones.

So first of all, forensic anthropology is totally a thing.It is a subfield of forensic science, applying anthropology techniques toinvestigations. It doesn’t even have to be criminal. Forensic anthropologists getcalled in to determine whether material found on the ground are actually bonesOr not, and if they are bones, than to differentiate between human and animal skeletons.Another task is to determine if the bones are modern or from ancient burials,how many individuals are involved, and of course the main part of this ask,identification.

For identification, you can get a lot without dental recordsor without the skull. Sexual dimorphism can be determined using both the skulland the pelvis. Age is determined based on bone growth. Children are born withsoft cartilages that are replaced by hard bones at a pretty set pace. Ratiobetween limb bones can give a good indication of stature and height. Bones alsokeep a good record of a person’s life: injuries/broken bones, medicaloperations, genetic diseases that deteriorates the skeletons, nutritionaldisorders, they all leave individualizing characteristics that can help withidentification. These are helpful especially if there is a specific person investigatorsare looking for (ie confirming the identity of a missing person case).

Identification can be confirmed by comparing DNA sampleswith DNA from presumed family members. Both nuclear DNA and mitochondrial DNAcan be used. Nuclear DNA is individual DNA specific to the skeleton, half ofthe DNA is from the father and half from the mother. Mitochondrial is easier tofind and work with, but it is purely from the maternal side of the family.

So there you have it Nonnie, skeletal identification withoutneeding the skull or dental records. Let us know if you want us to go more in-depthon the determination of gender, age, sex etc.