MadSci Network: Evolution
Query:

Re: where can I get info on human bone differences?

Date: Thu Aug 12 18:27:40 2004
Posted By: Will Higgs, Master's Student
Area of science: Evolution
ID: 1091387520.Ev
Message:

Patricia,

You can generally identify the sex (gender is a matter of personal choice) 
of well-preserved human skeletons from the shapes or orientations of 
certain bones.  If you only have the skull, the eyebrow ridges of males 
tend to be more prominent, as are the various bulges around the base of 
the cranium where the neck muscles are attached.  These differences are 
only in degree, they are not absolutely reliable and there are plenty of 
examples of 'feminine' male skulls and vice versa.  A forensic scientist 
should therefore always give a confidence level for any identification.  

The same applies to racial differences.  Such differences exist but as 
with sex differences there is a lot of individual variation.  In a country 
like the US where there has been racial mixing for many generations, it is 
even more difficult to make such determinations with confidence and most 
forensic scientists would not attempt to do so from bones.

There are many high school and undergraduate level textbooks which cover 
the human skeleton in great detail, and forensic science courses with 
accompanying literature are becoming increasingly popular.  I'm afraid I 
do not know the titles of any recent publications, but you should be able 
to find some by asking in a large bookstore, or searching Amazon.

As regards the sharing of DNA and blood groups by Native American tribes, 
I am not sure which relationship you are referring to.  The relatedness of 
groups of people, and the length of time they have been separated can be 
studied by comparing their DNA and blood groups, and if people have the 
opportunity or necessity to migrate within a large area such as N America, 
it would not be surprising to find widely spaced examples of closely 
related groups.

You can learn more about such questions by watching serious science 
magazines such as Scientific American and New Scientist.  I say 'watching' 
rather than 'reading', because you don't need to read them from cover to 
cover every week.  Just look at the contents page, and decide whether 
there is anything which interests you in that issue.  Archaeological 
magazines will also contain articles about forensic studies and the 
migrations of tribes.

Nobody is too old to do a PhD !



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