Forensic Analysis of Skeletal Remains: Identifying Sex, Race, and Height

Introduction

On the morning of September 29th 2019 a set of skeletal remains consisting of the skull, pelvis, femur, and humerus were recovered in Kirk Park, Bozeman Montana. The remains were sent to the local forensic anthropologist in the hopes of identifying the sex, race, and height of the individual. The sex and race of the individual were identified using standard qualitative and quantitative measurements and height was determined using standard regression formulas.

Summary of Findings

Sex

The sex of person c was determined to be female.

Skeletal traits that indicate female include sub-pubic angle (100°), pubis body width (40 mm), greater sciatic notch (90°), pelvic cavity shape (circular and wide), zygomatic process, nuchal crest, external occipital protuberance, ramus of mandible, vertical diameter of the femoral head (39.3 mm), maximum length of femur (370 mm), transverse diameter of humeral head (38.7 mm), vertical diameter of humeral head (42.9 mm), maximum length of humerus (280 mm), and the epicondylar width (55 mm). Some abnormalities were found including the upper edge of the eye orbit, shape of the eye orbit, frontal bone, mandible shape, and bicondylar width (80 mm).

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These inconsistencies should be disregarded because they are minor, it is well known that the most notable difference between the male skull and the female skull is the shape of the pelvic opening. In females, the shape of the pelvic opening is circular and wide with a sub-pubic angle greater than 90°, this significant difference is present because females need a wide and circular pelvic opening in order to give birth. Males however, do not need as wide of a pelvic opening, thus making their pelvic cavity more heart shaped.

Because there were more female traits identified in person c, the most notable being the shape of the pelvic cavity, it can be concluded that person c is a female.

Race

The race of person c was determined to be black. Skeletal traits that indicate this include the nasal index (0.55mm), prognathism (prognathic), nasal guttering, and shape of the orbital openings. The only abnormality found in the observations is the nasal spine (somewhat prominent). This inconsistency should be disregarded because the majority of the skeletal traits indicate that person c is black. It should also be noted that not every skull contains all black traits, all asian traits, or all white traits, it is almost rare for a skull to have every trait indicate a singular race. Because of this an individual's race is determined by the majority of skeletal traits that indicate a certain race. In this case, the individual skeletal traits primarily suggest that the race of person c is black.

Height

The height of person c was determined to range between 4’ 6” to 5’ 1”. The quantitative measurements of the bones used to determine the height of person c include the maximum length of the humerus (280 mm) and the maximum length of the femur (320 mm). By using standard regression formulas to find the height it was determined that person c measured between 4’ 6” to 5’ 1”.

Further Analysis

Facial Reconstruction

Facial reconstruction is the process of recreating the face of an individual from their skeletal remains. Facial reconstruction can be used to identify the race and sex of a set of skeletal remains using the published soft tissue thickness of different racial groups. It is recommended that facial reconstruction may be used in this case in order to recreate the facial features of person c. This information can then be released to the public in the hopes that the individual may be recognized and identified.

Strontium Isotope Analysis

Isotope analysis is defined as the abundance of different isotope signatures in a given substance. Strontium isotopes are found in bones and can indicate an individual's race, as well as their diet and diseases. It is recommended that strontium isotope analysis should be performed on person c in the hopes of using the information to assist in identifying who person c is. Once person c’s race, diet and diseases are obtained then authorities can access the medical records of individuals on the missing person’s list to see if anyone matches the information gained from the strontium isotope analysis.

Bone marrow

Bone marrow is a soft, fatty tissue found in the cavities of bones where its primary function is to produce blood cells and store lipids. It has been found that after 8-12 weeks bone marrow is no longer present on skeletal remains, indicating that if a body has been recovered and does not contain bone marrow then it has been dead for at least 8 weeks. This information is crucial in identifying who person c is because the amount of bone marrow decayed from the day that the body was recovered may indicate how long the individual has been dead for.

Knowing approximately how long a person has been dead for allows the authorities to search the missing person’s list based on the rate at which the bone marrow decayed from the remains. With this information, the authorities can determine how long the individual has been missing and who has been missing for that long on the missing persons list.

Conclusion

The findings suggest that person c is a black female that measures between 4’ 6” and 5’ 1”. It is recommended that in order to correctly identify person c a bone marrow decay test should be performed on the skeletal remains before any of the other methods because this way authorities can determine roughly how long the individual has been dead for.

It is then recommended that facial reconstruction is performed to assist in narrowing down the individuals on the missing person’s list that look similar to the face constructed by the sculptor from around the time when it was determined that person c died. Finally, strontium isotope analysis should be performed in order to identify the diseases that the individual had, this will allow authorities to match the results of strontium isotope analysis to the medical records of person c to determine their identity.