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Forensic Anthropology Warm-up

Last updated 8 months ago
8 questions
Friday 1/17/2025
Determining sex is crucial when analyzing unidentified human remains. The os pubis, sacrum, and ilium of the pelvis are bones that have the most obvious differences between men and women, along with the shape of the skull, the shape of the mandible (jaw), and the size of the occipital protuberance (bump) at the back of the skull. A common way to determine sex is by observing the size of the bones; males tend to have larger bones than females. Males also tend to have larger areas for muscle attachment. The sacrum is straighter in females and more curved in males. The space in the middle of the pelvic bone is larger in women to make birthing easier.


For a more accurate determination, a forensic anthropologist can remove the os pubis from the front of the pelvis and examine it for typically male or female qualities.
A forensic anthropologist can make the surest determination of sex by comparing three basic characteristics of the os pubis: the width of the pubic arch, the width of the pubic body, and the existence of a well-defined ventral arc, a bony ridge on the lower side of the female pubic bone (see Figure 14.2).

The pubic arch has a larger angle in the female than in the male. The pubic body is narrower in males than in females. Males do not usually have a ventral arc.
The ventral arc is a bony ridge found on the bottom side of the pubic bone that does not usually appear in its easily recognizable form until a woman is in her mid-20s. A precursor arc, a small bony line, first appears around the age of 14 (see Figure 14.3).
The ventral arc of a female in her 20s usually resembles that shown in Figure 14.4; the arc is clearly defined, but does not show as heavy a ridge as that seen in older females. Four percent of the female population does not show any ventral arc; when this is the case, the investigator must determine sex through other characteristics.
1
Drag and drop the labels onto the correct location for the following image.
Other Answer Choices:
female pelvis
ventral arc
male pelvis
pubic arch
pubic body
Tuesday 1/21/2025
1
A female skeleton specimen kept in the local museum has a tibia length of 31.4 cm. Approximately how tall would that person have been?
_______ ±7.5 cm (round to 2 decimal places)
Wednesday 1/22/2025
1

Match the following terms to their definitions.

Draggable itemCorresponding Item
tendons
attaches muscle to bones
ligaments
connective tissue that joins 2 or more bones together
cartilage
connective tissue found between 2 bones at a joint
1

Describe the differences between red and yellow marrow!

**note: red marrow also produces red blood cells and platelets!**

1
The "long" part of the bone is known as the _______ , whereas the cap of the bone is called the _______ .
1
The process of bone replacing cartilage as a child matures is called __________.
1

What happens to the epiphyseal line on the tibia as the bone matures?

Thursday 1/23/2025
2

Select all of the following bones that exhibit male characteristics.