Osteometry

Question 1

osteometry

Answer 1

• study and measurement of human skeleton
• used in anthropology and archaeology
• help to determine age, sex, ancestry, and stature

Question 2

spreading calipers

Answer 2

used in obtaining measurements of the cranium

Question 3

sliding claipers

Answer 3

measuring the face and mandible and long bones

Question 4

craniometry

Answer 4

• quantitative description of skull size and shape
• provides standardized protocol, comparable marks
• statistical evaluation of populations
• measurements in mm

Question 5

craniometric points

Answer 5

• standardized landmarks on the skull

- allows for comparable data and statistical analysis of populations

Question 6

unpaired osteometric points

Answer 6

falls on the midsagittal plane

Question 7

paired osteometric points

Answer 7

• on either side of the midsagittal plane

- equidistant to the midsagittal

Question 8

Frankfort horizontal position

Answer 8

• plane, defined by 3 points, is constrained to be parallel to ground
• right and left porion
• left orbital
• straight line between the top of the ear and the bottom of the eye

Question 9

cranium measurements

Answer 9

24 points

Question 10

mandible measurements

Answer 10

10 points

Question 11

postcranium measurements

Answer 11

44 points

Question 12

bregma

Answer 12

top of the skull where sutures touch

Question 13

glabella

Answer 13

most forward point on the skull, where the forehead overhangs

Question 14

porion

Answer 14

ear hole

Question 15

orbitale

Answer 15

lowest point of eye orbit

Question 16

why is individual ID important?

Answer 16

• closure
• official documents
• corpus delciti (body is evidence a crime occured)

Question 17

medicolegal ID

Answer 17

a civil matter tendered in the form of an expert opinion and based on the preponderance of evidence

Question 18

positive evidence

Answer 18

• goal of every forensic case
• most rigorous scientific standard
• accepted as absolute biological proof of identity
• easier to achieve with a single descendent

Question 19

examples of positive evidence

Answer 19

• nuclear DNA match with a known sample
• finger prints
• AM/PM radiographic comparisions
• surgical device with serial numbers

Question 20

presumptive evidence

Answer 20

• based on logic - is it reasonable to conclude?
• not definitively exclusive - it may match more than one individual
• assumptions may be false

Question 21

examples of presumptive evidence

Answer 21

• mitochondrial DNA
• group characteristics of the biological profile
• concordance between evidence of an antemortem fracture with a documented medical history
• wallet, tattoo, scar, mole

Question 22

closed event

Answer 22

• know all individuals involved
• each ID helps subsequent IDs
• example: plane crash

Question 23

open event

Answer 23

• don’t know all the individuals involved

- example: hurricane