FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY EXAM #1 UPDATED
ACTUAL QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS
Question:
1. *What determines if remains are of medico-legal significance?*
Answer:
1. ID bone from non-bone
2. ID human from non-human remains
3. Contemporary (recent) or historic (>50 yrs)
Question:
2. *Hydroxyapatite*
Answer:
compound of bone tissue consisting of calcium and phosphate
Question:
3. *Define Forensic Anthropology*
Answer:
Application of anthropological methods & theory - particularly those relating to the recovery and analysis
of human remains - to resolve legal matters.
Question:
4. What are the tasks of a forensic anthropologist?
Answer:
Assist with the collection of human remains Clean bones Analyze skeletal material Examine trauma &
pathology to bone Testi■es in court ID human from non human remains ID of sex, age, race, stature ID
other traits that lead to personal identi■cation
Question:
5. Describe the role of a forensic anthropologist (FA) within the medico-legal system.
Answer:
Question:
6. Describe the 5 objectives FAs have if remains are of medico-legal significance.
Answer:
1. Biological Pro■le
2. Cause & manner of death
3. Time Since Death
4. Scene Recovery/Mapping
5. Expert Testimony
Question:
7. Describe the three historical periods within Forensic Anthropology.
, Answer:
1. Formative Period (Pre-1940)
2. Consolidation Period (1939 to 1972)
3. Modern Period (1972 to present)
Question:
8. Describe the significance of the Parkman murder for forensic anthropology.
Answer:
First time in America a court considered physical evidence and scienti■c testimony.
Question:
9. Thomas Dwight
Answer:
Successor to Oliver Holmes; Dean Harvard School of Medicine. First to apply knowledge of the human
skeleton to forensic situations.
Question:
10. Ales Hrdlicka
Answer:
• Anatomist
• Smithsonian
- 1st curator of Physical Anthropology
- Trained medical graduates in anthropometry
• 1917: Founded American Journal of Physical Anthropology (AJPA)
• Studied human evolution, human osteology
Question:
11. Earnest Hooton
Answer:
• Physical anthropologist
• Harvard University
• Studied primate evolution, criminology...
- Racial classi■cation
Question:
12. Thomas W. Todd
Answer:
- Hamann-Todd collection
- Suture closures, ossi■cation times, dental eruption, symphysis age changes 3,300 documented human
skulls & skeletons
Question:
13. Robert J. Terry
Answer:
- Terry collection (Smithsonian)
- 2000+ documented skulls and skeletons
ACTUAL QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS
Question:
1. *What determines if remains are of medico-legal significance?*
Answer:
1. ID bone from non-bone
2. ID human from non-human remains
3. Contemporary (recent) or historic (>50 yrs)
Question:
2. *Hydroxyapatite*
Answer:
compound of bone tissue consisting of calcium and phosphate
Question:
3. *Define Forensic Anthropology*
Answer:
Application of anthropological methods & theory - particularly those relating to the recovery and analysis
of human remains - to resolve legal matters.
Question:
4. What are the tasks of a forensic anthropologist?
Answer:
Assist with the collection of human remains Clean bones Analyze skeletal material Examine trauma &
pathology to bone Testi■es in court ID human from non human remains ID of sex, age, race, stature ID
other traits that lead to personal identi■cation
Question:
5. Describe the role of a forensic anthropologist (FA) within the medico-legal system.
Answer:
Question:
6. Describe the 5 objectives FAs have if remains are of medico-legal significance.
Answer:
1. Biological Pro■le
2. Cause & manner of death
3. Time Since Death
4. Scene Recovery/Mapping
5. Expert Testimony
Question:
7. Describe the three historical periods within Forensic Anthropology.
, Answer:
1. Formative Period (Pre-1940)
2. Consolidation Period (1939 to 1972)
3. Modern Period (1972 to present)
Question:
8. Describe the significance of the Parkman murder for forensic anthropology.
Answer:
First time in America a court considered physical evidence and scienti■c testimony.
Question:
9. Thomas Dwight
Answer:
Successor to Oliver Holmes; Dean Harvard School of Medicine. First to apply knowledge of the human
skeleton to forensic situations.
Question:
10. Ales Hrdlicka
Answer:
• Anatomist
• Smithsonian
- 1st curator of Physical Anthropology
- Trained medical graduates in anthropometry
• 1917: Founded American Journal of Physical Anthropology (AJPA)
• Studied human evolution, human osteology
Question:
11. Earnest Hooton
Answer:
• Physical anthropologist
• Harvard University
• Studied primate evolution, criminology...
- Racial classi■cation
Question:
12. Thomas W. Todd
Answer:
- Hamann-Todd collection
- Suture closures, ossi■cation times, dental eruption, symphysis age changes 3,300 documented human
skulls & skeletons
Question:
13. Robert J. Terry
Answer:
- Terry collection (Smithsonian)
- 2000+ documented skulls and skeletons
