Chp. 1: Mini Lab: MISSING PERSONS (A Lesson on Forensic Anthropology)
Specially trained scientists can identify people by their skeletal remains. If the entire
skeleton cannot be located, scientists can use individual bones, bone fragments, and teeth
to identify an unfamiliar body. These scientists are called forensic anthropologists.
“Sherlock Bones”
The FBI established forensic anthropology as a certified science in the 1930s. These
experts, sometimes jokingly referred to as “Sherlock Bones,” regularly use their
understanding of the structure and function of the body in their work. Forensic
anthropologists prefer to work with complete skeletons, but often only have access to
individual bones or teeth. A complete skeleton can reveal a great deal about the once-living
individual; physical characteristics, health, lifestyle, habits, injuries, and even cause of
death.
When unidentified human bones are located, they are carefully packaged and sent to
the laboratory of the forensic anthropologist. These experts attempt to develop a detailed
bone and dental record from the remains. Size and shape of certain bones can indicate the
age, sex, height, and build of an individual. The condition of the bones can also indicate
diseases and general health of the individual at the time of death. The forensic
anthropologist carefully examines the bones and records all of the information he or she can
gather from a visual examination. Then X-rays are used to get a closer look at the condition
of the bones.
Head and Hips
The sex of the unknown individual can often be determined by viewing the cranium and
pelvic bones. Length of arm and leg bones can be used to calculate the height of the
human. Deviations in a bone, such as a lipping at the end of the femur, (upper leg bone),
indicate that the individual may have been an elderly person with arthritis (inflammation of
the joints). Indentations in teeth often indicate the presence of a dental filling at one time. A
comparison of the location and shape of these fillings may eventually be matched to the
dental records of an individual.
Chp. 1: Mini Lab: MISSING PERSONS (A Lesson on Forensic Anthropology)
Objective
You will identify a missing person by using the humerus bone length to find the height of
that individual.
Background Information
Last week 12 families received letters from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, stating
that a human humerus, the upper arm bone, had washed ashore on the 12 th Street Beach in
Ocean City, New Jersey. The FBI letter said that it is likely that this humerus belonged to
one of 12 missing person in the area who have never been discovered.
The life insurance policy that covered these 12 individuals have not yet paid the
beneficiaries. These policies cannot be paid until proof of the missing person’s death has
been confirmed. Many of these families are in desperate need of this financial assistance.
Most of the families believe their loved one was murdered.
The length of the humerus can be used to determine the actual height of its owner.
For this reason, each of the 12 families has been asked to provide information about the
height of their loved one. The members of the crime lab will compare the height of each
missing person with the projected height of the individual to whom the humerus belonged.
A crime lab report will be sent to the proper insurance company if a match is found for the
humerus.
Materials
Tape measure (metric)
Calculator
Exhibit A
Procedure
1. Exhibit A is a life-size sketch of the humerus bone that washed up on 12th Street Beach.
You and your team of experts will try to determine the owner of the humerus.
2. Measure the length of the humerus in centimeters. Record the length of the humerus on
your Crime Scene Report Sheet.
3. The families of the 12 missing persons have provided information regarding the height of
their missing family member to the FBI. Their information is provided on the Data Table.
Convert the heights in feet and inches to centimeters. Remember that 2.54 cm equals 1
inch.
4. Use the following formulas to determine whether or not the humerus bone could have
belonged to one of these missing persons. Record this information on the Data Table.
Height of male = (length of humerus bone in cm) X (2.89) + 70.64
Height of female = (length of humerus bone in cm) X (2.79) + 71.48
Crime Report Sheet (Missing Persons)
1. Date of Investigation: _________________________
Name of Investigators:
2. Results of Investigation: Length of Exhibit A Humerus: __________________________
3. Data Table
Missing Person
Height
Height (cm)
Calculated length
(feet and inches)
of humerus (cm)
Bill Boston
5’ 11”
Jane Caldwell
5’ 5”
Ernest Bass
5’ 6”
Jill James
4’ 10”
Gary Burnes
6’ 10”
Lily Walker
5’ 9”
Mary Zimmerman
4’ 8”
Billy Jenkins
6’ 2”
Jessie Agan
6’ 0”
Gladys Thomas
5’ 7”
Don Harris
5’ 7”
Lenny Aires
6’ 4”
4. Estimated height of Exhibit A humerus bone in feet and inches: ___________________
5. Is Exhibit A from a male or a female? __________________ State your reasoning.
6. Is Exhibit A from one of the 12 missing persons? ______________
If no, why not. If yes, who is the probable owner of Exhibit A ? State your reasoning.
7. To prove to the insurance company that this formula works, find the height in cm of each
person in class. Then measure the length of each person’s humerus. Use your
calculations to show that humerus bone length can be used to determine height. Record
this on a Data Table with the following headings:
Name
Height (cm)
Humerus length (cm)
Calculated height (cm)
Crime Report Sheet (Missing Persons)
Name
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
Height
(cm)
Humerus length
(cm)
Calculated height
(cm)
Crime Report Sheet (Missing Persons)
Name
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
Height
(cm)
Humerus length
(cm)
Calculated height
(cm)