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ANT 211
Fundamentals of Forensic Anthropology
with Dr. Albert
Answers to Practice Test
Answers and explanations appear in green, below the original question.
Which of the following is best for estimating stature?
Humeral length
Tibia length
Femoral length
Radial length
Length of the spinal column
Answer C is best.
One way of establishing identity using facial features is photo superimposition. Another, synonymous, term for this method is:
Facial reconstruction
Facial reproduction
Skull/photo video superimposition
Photo skull-face sketching
Facial imprinting
Answer C is correct. Answers A and B are incorrect because both are used interchangeably to refer to the method of rebuilding the soft tissues on the skull or a cast of a skull using clay. Answers D and E are incorrect because they are made up terms.
Which bone feature indicative of age progresses from flat to V-shaped around the edges, to deeper in the center, and ultimately to ragged and irregular with a porous center?
Tooth roots
Sternal rib end
Osteon shape
Cranial suture
Epiphyses of the vertebral bodies
Answer B is correct. The reason the other choices are incorrect is because the description of the age-related changes does not reflect what could happen to the other features listed.
Which of the following is the least accurate contributor to assessing stature?
Maximum humeral length
Metacarpal lengths
Fully's Anatomical method
Maximum tibial length
Fragmentary femur measures
Answer B is correct. Long bone maximum lengths are most accurate (Answers A and D, though some long bones are more accurate than others--see your class notes), followed by maximum length measures estimated from fragmentary long bones (Answer E, for example). Fully's Anatomical method (Answer C) is highly accurate but is not necessarily favored since it requires many intact bones to be available for the computation of stature (see class notes for clarification and further explanation of this method).
Which of the following is an age estimation method best applied to subadults?
Examining morphological changes of the pubic symphysis
Examining the timing of appearance of secondary centers of ossification
Examining cranial suture closure
Examining osteophytes
Examining cartilage mineralization
Answer B is correct. Answers A, C, D, and E are incorrect because those methods are best applied to adults.
Which of the following provides the most useful information on the size and shape of the nose in a facial reconstruction effort?
Length of nasal bones and angle of articulation with the frontal bone
Width of the nasal aperture and its distance below the orbits at midpoint in the face
Location of the nasal spine and robusticity of the zygoma
Length of the nasal spine and width of the nasal aperture
All of the above are necessary to reconstruct the nose in a facial reproduction
Answer D is correct. See your class notes on identification through facial characteristics.
Maples, in Chapter 8: "Unnatural Nature", discusses the unusual skeletal pathology of what historic individual he had the opportunity to examine?
Billy the Kid
Joseph Merrick
Cameron Kenan
Abraham Lincoln
Sarah Winchester
Answer B is correct. The others are not mentioned.
Which of the following dental age estimation methods is most reliable for distinguishing teenagers from young adults?
Third molar root development
Third molar crown development
Timing, sequence and eruption of the secondary teeth
Eruption of the third molar (wisdom tooth)
Alveolar bone resorption
Answer A is correct. Third molar roots typically mature around age 18 years. Incomplete roots with a complete crown would indicate a teenager, whereas a complete crown and root for the third molar is more likely indicative of a person who is 18, or older than age 18 years. Answer B is incorrect because teeth can erupt when the crown is complete (while the roots are not complete) and third molar crowns can mature at various ages--the variability makes it less reliable for distinguishing between teenagers and young adults if this is the only criterion used. Answer C is not helpful for discerning a teenager from a young adult--secondary teeth can all erupt by the teen years. Answer D is incorrect because third molars can erupt between ages 15 and 41 years. Answer E is incorrect because the alveolar bone resorbs when/if teeth are lost, or in elderly individuals and doesn't help distinguish a teenager from a young adult.
A 45 year old male is most likely to show which
skeletal features indicative of age?
A fused basilar suture, some costal cartilage mineralization, moderate osteophytic lipping
Obliterated ectocranial sutures, ridged and amorphous pubic symphysis, flat sternal rib end
Almost complete epiphyseal union, slight dental attrition, large and octagonal osteons
A completely mature skeleton according to Fully's Anatomical Method, softer thyroid cartilage, some osteoarthritis
Brittleness of the primary ossificiation centers, beginning dental calcification, fully fused epiphyses
Answer A is best. Fully mature adults have a closed basilar suture; some costal cartilage mineralization can be seen in 45 year olds, but this can vary, and osteophytic lipping can also occur, but the extent varies. The features in choice A all could be found, and since at least one incorrect age feature is given in the other choices, B through E, none of those is correct. Tip: In questions like this, if any part of the answer choice is false, the entire answer choice is incorrect.