Forensic Anthropology CH. 4.5.7.8

When excavating a grave, it is generally best to proceed in

1 to 2 in. layers.

Which of the below methods for estimating the postmortem interval work best within the first 24 hours of death?

1. Livor mortis 2. Rigor mortis 3. Changes in the vitreous humor of the eye.

A projecting lower eye border is generally characteristic of

1. Native Americans 2. Asians

Archeological techniques may be used at crime scenes when

1. a buried body is discovered. 2. a skeleton is found on the surface. 3. accurate and complete evidence collection is desired.

Visual signs of burial include

1. cracks in the soil around the perimiter of the grave. 2. a primary depression sloping down from the sides. 3. damaged vegetation near the grave.

Non-metric (anthroposcopic) cranial traits include

1. incisor form (shovel-shaped, blade-form etc.). 2. the form of the nasal sill (sharp, dull, etc.).

Among the problems with some discriminant functions that determine ancestry is that

1. some measurements are complex. 2. they are based on small sample sizes. 3. they may be based on samples not representative of recent humans.

In reference to the modern biological usage of race or ancestry,

1. some physical anthropologists argue race is a cultural construct that has no basis in biololgy. 2. it is impossible to construct discrete boundaries between racial groups. 3. traditional racial groups exhibit overlapping ranges of variation in traits.

Precision in mapping human remains is crucial because

1. the information of body-part scatter may be important for determining time since death. 2. it enhances the credibility of the forensic worker. 3. the information of body-part scatter may be important for determining the cause and manner of death

Under the right environmental conditions, mummification can occur in as few as

10 days

Accuracy of sex determination from the skull alone is about

80-90 percent.

Accuracy of sex determination from the pelvis alone is about

90-95 percent.

A skull with complex cranial sutures, including Wormian bones, is most likely

American Indian or Asian.

A low-rounded nasal root, nasal guttering, and a broad nasal opening is generally characteristic of

Blacks

A post-bregmatic depression is seen most often in

Blacks

A body is discovered in a warm, moist climate. It has been exposed to the elements for about ONE DAY. Which of the descriptions below is most likely to be accurate?

Egg masses of insects are present, and the veins seen through the skin are blue to dark green. No maggots are present.

Biological races are unique, distinct, and have non-overlapping skeletal features.

False

Broadly defined racial categories have great biological reality because the genetic variation between groups is vastly greater than the genetic variation within groups.

False

Highly acidic or alkaline soils tend to retard the decomposition rate of the skeleton.

False

Human variation is part of a process that started when humans migrated out of Africa, but then stopped, creating distinct racial boundaries

False

Indexes such as the maxillofrontal index have proven to be too imprecise for determining ancestry.

False

Insect activity has little to no effect on decomposition rates.

False

Insects, such as flies, initially invade the thorax by burrowing through the flesh.

False

Interestingly, bodies resurface in water at about the same postmortem interval, regardless of temperature, salinity, or bacterial load

False

Mainstream physical anthropologists believe that some races are inherently superior to others.

False

Rigor mortis is the gradual cooling of the body after death.

False

Since males are generally larger than females, one does not have to consider which population a skull is from when making sex determinations.

False

The absence of dorsal pubic pits is a good indicator of sex.

False

The ischium-pubic index works well for sex detemination because females have a relatively short pubic bone.

False

The patterns of human variation that we perceive now are unlikely to change in the future.

False

The pelvic inlet of males is oval rather than heart-shaped.

False

The preauricular sulcus is found next to the mastoid process.

False

The rate of decay of the body is NOT affected by environmental variables such as temperature and humidity.

False

The use of greater sciatic notch shape for sexing subadults is about as accurate as using the same technique on adults.

False

Using one long bone length tends to give more accurate sex assignments than does using multiple long bone lengths.

False

Given that all other factors are the same, a body that is exposed to _______ will increase the decomposition rate.

Insects

A body is discovered in a warm, moist climate. It has been exposed to the elements for about ONE WEEK. Which of the descriptions below is most likely to be accurate?

Maggots are active on the face, and skin slippage is apparent.

Shovel-shaped incisors are found in their highest frequencies in

Native Americans, Asians

Discriminant functions used for the skull to identify sex are around 85% accurate.

True

Given the choice of using a mandible or a pubic bone for determining sex, one should rely more on the pubic bone.

True

Hair form (ie. the shape of the hair cross section) is sometimes used as a non-metric (anthroposcopic) racial trait.

True

Immersion in water tends to increase skin slippage and reduces the chances of mummification.

True

Livor mortis is the pooling of blood in the body that occurs after death.

True

Medium to large dorsal pubic pits are most often a female trait.

True

Most physical anthropologists consider many racial characteristics to be the product of environmental adaptation.

True

The decomposition rate of an unburied body is about 8 times faster than a buried body.

True

The inion hook is found on the nuchal area of the cranium.

True

The modern biological usage of race refers to geographically patterned variation within a species.

True

The presence of clothing helps retain body moisture and makes those regions more attractive to flies than unclothed regions.

True

The rapid skeletonization of fleshy parts of the body may be suggestive of trauma to those regions.

True

Whites often have crowded dentition, including impacted third molars.

True

A distinct nasal sill and prominent anterior nasal spine is most often seen in

Whites

Given that all other factors are the same, which environment will act to retard decomposition the most?

a cold, arid environment

The most likely combination of traits for a female skeleton is

a pronounced sub-pubic concavity, a pre-auricular sulcus, a wide greater sciatic notch, and a ventral arc.

If one wants to ensure that tiny pieces of bone or individual teeth are recovered from an excavation, it is best to use

a screen for sifting soil

The sagging of flesh, caving of the abdominal cavity, and the presence of adipocere are characteristicsof

advanced decomposition

A body is found out in the open. There are numerous blowfly pupa casings on and around the body. On average, you expect that the body has been there for

at least three weeks

Putrification is caused by

bacteria in the body

The best studied insect, and the best estimator of time since death is the

blowfly

The Postmortem interval

can be estimated with more certainty the closer the discovery of the body is to the actual time of death.

Which variable has the LEAST effect on decomposition rates?

carnivore activity

During the course of searching for human remains, nonhuman bones and other materials may be discovered before any human remains are found. It is best to

continue searching for the human remains.

Skeletonization with bleaching, exfoliation, and metaphyseal loss are characteristics of

extreme decomposition

Cadaver dogs have been trained to exclude all "fresh" human scents, so they will only find dead things.

false

Grave excavation generally proceeds before a datum point is established.

false

Grid squares used in excavating remains are never oriented along the cardinal directions (e.g. north-south or east-west).

false

Human remains detection dogs are cross-trained search and rescue dogs

false

The advantage of using dogs to find human remains is that they are just as successful working in any environmental condition (i.e. different wind speeds, different levels of humidity, etc.).

false

The traditional, and least expensive, method of sorting commingled remains employs mitochondrial DNA analysis.

false

When excavating a crime scene, the goal is to recover the body as soon as possible.

false

The branch of science that deals with changes to biological organisms between the time of death and the time of discovery is

forensic taphonomy

The best geophysical method for locating buried remains uses

ground penetrating radar

The use of flat-soled shoes during excavation

helps prevent the addition of footprints to the crime scene.

Parts of the skeleton that may provide information on sex include the

humerus. sacrum. scapula.

Adipocere formation is caused by

hydrated body fats

A datum point

is a permanent point to which all measurements can be related.

The presence of blowfly eggs on a body (and no maggots) indicates the body

is fresh

Autolysis

is the degeneration of body tissues by liberated digestive fluids.

The first task in the process of recovering remains is

locating the remains

Dorsal Pubic Pits

may be found on females who have never given birth.

The most likely environment in which adipocere formation will occur is

moist

Cranial traits most often found in Whites include

small, retreating zygomas and a narrow nasal aperture

The final step in grave excavations is to

take a photograph of the empty grave.

A secondary depression in a recent grave is caused by

the collapse of the corpse's abdominal cavity.

The most popular discriminant functions to determine ancestry use measurements from

the cranium

Discriminant functions for determining ancestry have been produced for

the cranium. the pelvis. the foot.

The best, most reliable region of the skeleton for racial identification is

the skull, especially the face

Studies of decomposition find that

the timing of the stages of decomposition are quite variable.

The easiest and most common method of locating remains is

through visual assessment (surveys).

The term "cline" refers to

traits that vary with geography.

A major problem surrounding the recovery of remains is the non-involvement of forensic anthropologists.

true

Hot weather can lead to increased liquefaction of the body tissues.

true

It is often extremely difficult to match commingled body parts to the correct individual.

true

The sorting of commingled body parts relies heavily on the fact that the size of various skeletal elements are correlated (i.e. people with long femora also have long tibia).

true

The best method for covering large areas when searching for hidden graves is

with aerial photography