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| 1999 Study |
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| 1999 study on half a human skeleton. |
This is last years study.
In this report I will provide an analysis of a human skeleton contained in box number 22 from the Anatomy Department of the medical school at the University of Otago Dunedin, New Zealand.In this report I will summarise what bones that were available for study and how I have reached my conclusions regarding the sex, ancestry, stature and age at death of the specimen as well as any evidence of trauma or pathogens.
The skeletal material was presented in four plastic bags as well as an articulated (by string) hand and foot, examination of these found them to be from the right side as were all the paired bones.
Bone Inventory.(All paired bones are from the right side)
Bag 1.
Humerus, Radius, Ulna, Clavicle, Scapula.
Bag 2.
Innominate, Sacrum, Manubrium, Sternum,2 Coccyx, 12 ribs..
Bag 3.
Patella, Tibia, Fibula, Femur.
Bag 4.
Vertebrae , 7 Cervical, 12 Thoracic, 5 Lumbar.
Complete right foot and complete right hand both loose in box and held together by string.
Complete cranium including mandible but missing three teeth on mandible and severe trauma to upper incisors. The only bone missing from the skeleton was the Hyoid bone.
After examining the bones I began to explore various characteristics that would determine the sex , ancestry, age at death, stature and any visible signs of disease on the skeleton. The techniques that were used all were contained in Human Osteology by W.M.Bass.
Cranium, Sex, Age, Ancestry, Pathologies.
My first step was to look at the cranium to find out the sex and racial background of this individual. Due to the possible mix up of the post skeletal remains and their heads it was necessary to use more than just the innominate (pelvic bones) for sex estimation. The cranium of this individual had the flat (Orthognathous) face and retreating Zygomatics that are common to Caucasoids, also of note was the nasal dam that obstructs the nasal passage. By comparing my cranium to others in the class and by using the data from Bass I concluded that this cranium came from a person with distinct Caucasian characteristics.
Cranial features were used to estimate sex by looking at and comparing the brow ridge and forehead to others, it was easy to see the difference in overall size and the enlarged mastoid process common to males. Perhaps the most conclusive and easiest to see was the nuchal crest at the back of the skull as well as the square chin on the mandible of males.
Also conducted was an age estimation that was undertaken using the cranial suture lines called obelion which is along the sagittal suture between the two Parietal foramen.
The equation used to determine age from this information is as follows:
age= 15.01 ( P L Q) - 6.76 (A S Q )+37.9
By using this formula an approximate age of 54.4 was proposed although this has an error margin of 8.2 years it gives an idea of the age range of this individual that I will correlate with postcranial data.
There is trauma to the cranial remains in the teeth, the front maxillary incisors have been broken as well as massive trauma to the mandible. This trauma which appears to be premortem is on the left hand side and appears to have healed well possibly an indication of dental reconstruction or removal of the three teeth. Also missing was the right third maxillary molar, an absence of occlusial wear on the corresponding mandible molar showed that this has been missing for a very long time, the space left by the molar has fully healed indicating that the individual must have had dental surgery some time in the past.Occlusial wear on the rest of the teeth show that this person was older than 45 (Bass,1995,p301) which backs up the assertions made regarding age from cranial suture lines.
Also evident in the cranium was signs of an advanced case of Cribra Orbitalia on the eye sockets as well as Porotic Hyperostsosis, these two diseases of the bone indicate a deficiency of iron in the blood. This was evident by the pin holes left on the bones as the compact bone turns into trabecular.
The cranial evidence therefore seems to pointe towards a Caucasian male around his mid-fifties and that has suffered trauma to his mandible possibly as a result of surgery. This individual also showed evidence of diseases related to the condition known as anaemia as well as occlusial wear on his teeth that give an estimate of his age.
Post-Cranial Remains, Sex, Age, Staure,Pathologies.
My first questions regarding this material were directed to establishing a way of backing up my assumptions made with the skull. The first was sex, the best way to determine sex of an individual is from the innominate bone.
The innominate bone of this person showed characteristics that are distinctly male.
First was the SubPubic angle, by comparing this angle to a known female specimen it was easy to distinguish the difference of the angle. In relation to this question I also looked at the Sciatic Notch which is wider in females, using my thumb as a gauge it was again very easy to see the difference between specimens. Also related here is the angle of the Sacrum which has more room in females and showed in my specimen an angle that was to small to be a female. (Bass,1995.p194).
Also of interest in the pelvic region was the pubic symphysis, this showed signs of advanced age due to the ridges that have developed around the area. By comparing the development of this region of the innominate it was possible to get an idea of the age of this individual whose age is estimated as over 45.(White,199 .p316).
The stature of this individual was estimated by measuring two long bones, the Femur and the Tibia.These bones were measured and the results fed into an equation designed to estimate stature for white males. These formula were proposed by Trotter and Gleeson 1952 and are in the Bass handbook.
The measurements were: Femur, 422mm. Tibia, 350mm.
This information was thus applied,(2.32 (FEMUR) + 65.53)+ answer Tibia = 2.42 tibia + 81.93 +/- 4.00
The formula gave a range of height to apply to my subject, the femur estimation was 163.43 cm (median)+/- 3.4cm. and the Tibia median was 166.63 +/- 4.00. Given the range and mean of these two measurements it is possible to extrapolate a height between 159.49 cm and 170.63cm these being the top and low end of the scales provide by Trotter and Gleeson(1952) as is presented in Bass.(Bass,1995,p233)
Pathologies.
The remaining post cranial skeleton exhibited no obvious signs of breakage or continuing ossification due to the proposed age of the subject this is not surprising. All the bones except the hyoid were present and appeared to be in good condition. No signs of rheumatism were evident in the hands and feet although some of the distal phalanges were deformed and this could be a sign of this condition.
What was found in the vertebral column was of more interest as signs of osteoarthritis were discovered in the lumbar and thoracic regions. This disease had deformed the vertebrae in such a manner that “lips” of bone had gradually built up around the body of several vertebrae. This disease must have resulted in a very painful condition for the individual whose pain would have increased as the condition gradually fused the vertebrae together. This kind of pathology as well as the anaemia that is evident in the cranium point towards an individual with some serious health problems probably associated with increasing age.
Conclusions.
I have reached my conclusions after considering both the cranial and postcranial remains and correlating the two to test my proposals. I have shown my skeleton to be a Caucasian based on his shared characteristics with reference material that is known to be Caucasian, this was based solely on the skull.
The sex of this individual was determined from cranial information such as the mastoid process and nuchal crest, as well as the brow ridges. This information was then confirmed with more certain information from the innominate bone using the sciatic notch and subpubic angle which are particular to females.
I have used the measurements of the tibia and femur to assess the stature of this man I have used two measurements to check the information gained from each bone and arrived at a height around 165cm.
I have used both cranial and post cranial data to arrive at an age at death for this person.The data gained from using cranial suture lines was estimated at around 54.4 years old +/-8.2 this ties in with occlusial wear on the teeth that estimates an age of 45+.
Post cranial information from the pubic symphysis gives a similar age group of 45+ these two groups of complementary information back each other in relation to the age of around 50.
I have diagnosed the subject with signs of spreading osteoarthritis especially in the lumbar and thoracic regions of the vertebral column as well as possibly in the carpal phalanges.
Also evident were advanced stages of cribra orbitalia and porotic hyperostosis in the cranium these are signs that the person had an iron deficiency such as anaemia.
All of this information taken into account together lets me arrive at several conclusions regarding this person. I believe that this human skeleton was a Caucasian man whose height was around 167cm tall and was in his middle ages probably at 50 when he died. I believe that this individual has undergone trauma to the mandible and maxilla before he died, I do not think that this killed him however as there are signs of healing in the bones .
This man also exhibited signs of deteriorating health from osteoarthritis in his back and possibly hands as well as signs of anaemia. These diseases all have outward manifestations of their respective conditions that would aid in identification from medical and dental records. By checking these pathologies with dental records one should be able to pin down the individual in regards to the possibility of previous dental surgery. Medical files may contain records of a missing person with these conditions that fits the profile given from skeletal remains.
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