Forensic Anthropology

Bones Burned in Barrel

• Sometime during the day on October 31, 2005, photographer Teresa Halbach was scheduled to meet with Steven Avery, one of the owners of Avery Auto Salvage, to photograph a maroon Plymouth Voyager minivan for . She had been there at least fifteen times before, taking pictures of other vehicles for the magazine. Halbach disappeared that day. In the yard, officers found a “burn barrel” with remains of a camera, cell phone, and bones that were determined to be a female adult. Damage to some of the bones, suggested that the body was mutilated,

• Anthropology: The scientific study of the origins and behavior as well as the physical, social, and cultural development of humans

• Forensics Anthropology: the study of physical anthropology as it applies to human skeletal remains in a legal setting

History

• 1800’s: Scientist began using skull measurements to differentiate among individuals

• 1897: Bone remains used as evidence in a murder case (sausage maker murder then “cooked” wife)

• 1932: FBI started aiding in identification of human remains

• Remains of WWII soldiers where identified using anthropology techniques

Number of Bones

• Adult humans have 206 bones• Babies have 450 bones• Bones connect and fuse together as a

person ages• Joints: location where bones meet

– Cartilage: wraps around bones for protection– Ligaments: bands of tissue connecting

together two or more bones– Tendons: connect muscles to bone

Aging of Bones

• Children build bones at a faster rate than bones being broken down. Thus bones increase in size (growth)

• After the age of 30, bones begin to deteriorate faster than they are being built– Excising can slow deterioration

• People with osteoporosis are at risk of bone breakage due to loss of calcium

• The number of bones and their conditions can tell investigators about a person’s age, health, and whether the person had enough calcium

Osteobiography

• Osteobiography: literally translates as the story of a life told by the bones– One’s age, sex, race, height and health– If one was right handed– If they did physical labor– Sports the person played

Bones: Males vs. Females

• Females: smoother and less knobby

• Males: thicker, rougher, and more bumpy

The Skull

• Male: Frontal lobe is low and sloping, eye orbits tend to be square, lower jaw is more square (90 degree angle), and square chins

• Female: Frontal lobe is high and more rounded, eye orbits tend to be circular, lower jaw is more sloped (greater than 90 degrees), rounder or V-shaped chin

The Pelvis• Males: subpubic angle 50-82

degree, shape of pubis is triangular, shape of pelvic cavity is heart shaped, sacrum is longer, narrower, and curved inward

• Females: subpubic angle is 90 degrees, shape of pubis is rectangular, shape of pelvic cavity is oval shaped, ad sacrum is shorter, broader, and curved outward.