Bones ID

Question 1

What are bones?

Answer 1

The hard tissue that make up skeletons

Question 2

What makes bone identification easier?

Answer 2

When the skull is present

Question 3

What complicates bone identification?

Answer 3

Weathering or scavenging - damage to bones

Question 4

Where can DNA be found in bone?

Answer 4

The osteocytes

Question 5

What are the advantages of bone as forensic evidence?

Answer 5

1. They show evidence of weapon use - can be matched to weapons
2. Can narrow down species quite well based on size and shape, more so than hair

Question 6

What are the disadvantages of bone as forensic evidence?

Answer 6

Difficult to extract DNA

If the bone is damaged, any DNA may be badly degraded.