Last week, I asked you if you discovered a skeleton or a pile of bones in the woods, would you be able to read the skeleton and understand its secrets? In my last post, I discussed how a forensic anthropologist determines gender from skeletal remains. This week, I’ll explain how a forensic anthropologist deduces the height and race of an individual by looking at his skeleton.
Race:
Anthropologists shrink away from the term “race” and instead refer to an individual’s ancestry. Humans are often a mixture of ancestries, so race can be difficult to determine from skeletal remains.
Skulls in people from European ancestry are generally long and narrow. The eye sockets appear rounded with squared margins. The narrow nasal aperture sits high on the face, and the nasal bridge is prominent and sharply angled. The teeth appear small and are spaced closely together.
Asian skulls have circular eye sockets and heart-shaped nasal apertures. The nasal bridge is less pronounced than it is in European skulls, and it is gently angled. Asian skulls have shovel-shaped upper incisors.
African skulls have rectangular eye orbits. The nasal aperture is wide, and the nasal bridge is flat. The jaw protrudes from the rest of the face, and the teeth are large and spaced wider apart than those in individuals with European or Asian ancestry.
Height or Stature:
A close correlation exists between the length of a limb and the height of an individual, and anthropologists have conducted numerous studies to measure the mathematical relationship between limb length and the known height of individuals. From these studies, researchers have developed mathematical formulas for various bones which can be used to estimate height. These equations vary depending on the ancestry and gender of the individual. For example, if you find a femur measuring 41 cm (16.14 inches) in length, then depending on the gender and ancestry of the individual, you will use one of the following equations:
| Male | Female | |
| European | 2.32 x Femur + 65.53 ± 3.94 cm | 2.47 x Femur + 54.10 ± 3.72 cm |
| Asian | 2.15 x Femur + 72.57 ± 3.80 cm | Use Male Formula |
| African | 2.10 x Femur + 72.22 ± 3.91 cm | 2.28 x Femur + 59.76 ± 3.41 cm |
In the above example, if we have determined our skeleton is a male of African ancestry, then to calculate the individual’s height from his femur, we would use the following calculation:
2.10 x 41 + 72.22 = 158.32 cm ± 3.91 cm (or 62.33 inches ± 1.54 inches)
Similar equations exist for correlating height to the length of the tibia, fibula, humerus, ulna, and radius. If you have several bones available for a given individual, you can increase the accuracy of height estimation by applying the formulas to two or more bones.
Next week, I’ll explain some of the techniques forensic anthropologists use when examining skeletal remains to determine the age of the individual at the time of death. I’ll also explore whether it is possible to estimate the time since death from looking at skeletal remains.
Be sure to sign up for my free mystery newsletter, and I’ll see you back here next week.
Robin Barefield is the author of three Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, and The Fisherman’s Daughter. To download a free copy of one of her novels, watch her webinar about how she became an author and why she writes Alaska wilderness mysteries. Also, sign up below to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.
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