Webster-Mirriam defines stature as the natural height (as of an individual) in an upright position. Estimating stature is important for individualization in forensic cases and mass disasters. Along with assessments of age, sex, and ancestry, stature estimation assists a forensic anthropologist in building the biological profile of an unidentified decedent (DiGangi, Moore). Research has shown that measurement of the lengths of the long bones is the most useful for estimation of living stature of an individual when the full skeleton is not available (DiGangi, Moore). According to DiGangi and Moore, the following generalizations can be made when considering stature estimation:
• Stature in humans increases until adulthood and tends to decrease with advancing age after about 45 years
• There is considerable variation within a single population
• On average, male stature is greater than female stature
• Studies by Li et al., 2004; MacGregor et al., 2006; Perola et al., 2007 have shown that 65% to 90% of stature is due to inheritance
• Living stature should be estimated only after age, sex, and ancestry have been assessed due to varying levels of sexual dimorphism, growth, skeletal generation and population variation
The need for reliable methods for identification of unknown remains became clearer in the aftermath of WWII when attempts were made to identify the remains of deceased soldiers. Extensive work in estimating stature from skeletal remains was done using remains of WWII as sample sets.
The two main methods of estimating stature from skeletal remains are the anatomical and regression methods. The anatomical method measures all bones that directly contribute to stature and then uses a correction factor to account for so...
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... by Raxter et. al., indicate that stature estimations using the anatomical method are strongly correlated to living statures, however due to systematic bias, underestimations of nearly 2.4 cm are often seen (Raxter et. al., 2006). The major disadvantage of Fully’s anatomical method is that all of the contributing skeletal elements must be present for measurement which is not always the case in mass disasters, archaeological or forensic casework. When nearly full skeletons are available, however, this method is strongly correlated to living stature and gives a closer estimation to actual height than other methods (Raxter). Even with the disadvantages of this method, Ousley has stated that “…the best possible estimate of biological stature from the skeleton would be the Fully method or a variation thereof, since it incorporates all skeletal components of stature”.
The skeleton had a hideous impact to the community and was predicted by local investigators to be reasonably modern. To get better understanding and avoid confusion, a bone sample was sent to a laboratory in the USA for investigation and analysation using series of scientific
Paleontologist L.B. Tarlo said that it was very difficult to ascertain the length of Liopleurodon. This was so because no complete skeleton was found. He then predicted from the skull, the skull was approximately one-seventh of the total length of the body. When we apply this ratio to the largest skull specimen of L. ferox, the total length of the body comes out to be a little more than 10 meters. The normal size from this calculation would be around 5-7 meters in length. The weight of it was estimated to be around between 75 to 150 tons. The more recent study and the finding of the complete skull of Liopleurodon. It showed the total size of the body was actually five times more the length of the skull. Thus, reducing the expected body size of it furthermore. The maximum size that a L. ferox could reach is just up to 6.4
Feder and Park present a list of traits that are used by paleoanthropologists to distinguish the appearance of skeletal features and characterize these changes over time. Th...
The perceived goal of children, or their parents, in Bailey’s article is to be of normal height at adulthood; but what is normal? The average height for American men is 5’9” and for women it is 5’4” (Bailey). According to Robert W. Steele, M.D., “alterations [in growth] may be in the form of a growth slow down, accelerated growth, or disproportionate grow...
The breakdown of bone, and remodeling of the bone in adults records age (Smithsonian). After childhood, the bones continue to grow and make new bone cells, osteons. Young adults have less and larger osteons compared to that of older adults. This method can predict age within 5 to 10 years. Another potential method for determining the age of an adult skeleton is to look for arthritis indicators on the bones. Arthritis will cause noticeable rounding of the bones (TFL). While, analyzing the cranium of a grown adult, the coronal sutures may not be visible due to bone
closer the line of best fit is to 1; the more evidence there is to
Although the scientific use of anthropometrics in not abused in modern day society, scientists still incorrectly draw conclusions from data and statistics. Many statically fallacies occur where scientists will try and bend the statistics to prove their own personal opinion. For example, a scientist may deem his new invention or product to be 100% successful, but it could have only been tested 5 times. Even though the abuse of anthropometrics has been abandoned, scientific data abuse is still apparent in modern day
diet and medical care, the average-sized man was between five and five-and-a-half feet tall (“Middle
Paleoanthropology: Pliocene and Pleistocene Human Evolution. Paleobiology, 7:3:298-305. Frayer, David W. and Milford Walpoff 1985 Sexual Dimorphism. Annual Review of Anthropology, 14:429-473 Key, Catherine A. 2000 The Evolution of Human Life History.
Text Box: Table 2. Humerus length and height of female student in the classText Box: Table 1. Humerus length and height of male student in the class
the mean for leg length to torso length was 1.59 for humans and 1.13 for grasshoppers. In the graph the human column is higher than the grass hoper column as well because the grasshoppers have a smaller leg length compared to the body length and this is opposite to what I predicted in the hypothesis.
15. Vuori, Ilkka (1996). "Peak bone mass and physical activity: a short review". Nutrition Reviews, 54, S11-17.
A simple formula may be used which gives a correlation to the 95th percentile of BP for the 50th percentile for height up to 16 years of age.[7]
The height to hand ratio for adults was nearly 1:9. The height to hand ratio for the adults was almost a 1:8 ratio. For a human to be allometric, the body parts must be shown to not be proportionate. Thus, the observations show that the height to hand ratio is definitely allometric.
His hypothesis suggests that the distance from fingertip to fingertip or the arm span is the same distance from head to heel or height. The hypothesis made to demonstrate the “Vitruvian Man” explained that if the distance from heel to hip is X ft, then the distance from hip to fingertips when the arm is extended straight above the head is also X ft. Making conclusions from the final results reveals that the hypothesis was incorrect. Measurements from heel to hipbone were shorter than hipbone to fingertips when the arm was extended straight above the head. Potential modifications to improve test results could require all test subjects to have bare feet to get more accurate results from the measurements as well as measuring more accurately with a tool not including string. If demonstrated with the minor modifications, results could change, possibly supporting the “Vitruvian Man” more