Post on 12-Jan-2016
Sutures and DNA
Forensic Anthropology
Identification and examination of human skeletal remains– Trying to determine origin, sex,
approximate age, race and skeletal injury
– May create facial reconstruction– Identify victims of mass disaster such as
plane crash
Aging of Bone
• What can bone tell us?– Children build bones faster and bones grow in
size– After 30 years – process starts to reverse and
bones deteriorate faster than built• Can be slowed by exercise
– # of bones and their condition can tell a person’s age, health, and calcium in food
Distinguishing Age
• Bones don’t reach maturity at the same time – To help tell their age:– suture marks – presence or absence of cartilage
Osteobiography
• The story of a life as told by bones• Things we can see:
– Loss of bone density, poor teeth, signs of arthritis
– Previous fractures, artificial joints, and pins– Right-handed vs. left-handed– Physical labor
Suture Marks
• Zigzag areas where bones of the skull meet– In babies, some is
soft tissue that is gradually ossified
– Suture marks slowly fade to give smoother appearance as bones age
Suture Marks Cont’d
• Coronal Suture:– closed by age 50
• Lamboidal Suture: – begins closing at 21– accelerates at 26– closed by 30
DNA Evidence
• Mitochondrial DNA degrades much, much, much slower– Can be extracted
from bones and compared to living relatives on mother’s side of family
Digital Imagery Reconstruction:Use of computer superimposes photo of skull with outer skin.
Facial reconstruction technique used by forensic
artists.
Facial Reconstruction
Plastic 3 D reconstruction 2 dimensional reconstruction
Computerized programs for Facial Reconstruction