ANTH 2015 Chapter : Human Osteology 11
Document Summary
We care for the dead/have ceremonies and burials. Archaeologists find skeletal material and need to be able to tell if it"s human. Ex: mary manheim was called by cops to determine if a site was an infant burial (it turned out to just be a cat) Field identification of bones (forensics)- it"s a specialty career- can determine: Age at death, sex, and health status (of when they were alive) Every bone does not provide the same information. Newborn skeleton: 305 because an infants" cartilage hasn"t fused yet. Post-cranial: spinal cord which is linked to the cranium through the foramen mangnum (means large opening/window in latin) Can determine through suture closures (happen at known rates which you can find in books) Fusion of long bones: the diaphysis(shaft) and epiphysis(ends) fuse at known ages. Teeth: 2 sets-baby and permanent erupt at known ages. Only useful in determining age before you have all your permanent teeth.
