Blog 13: Answer 1

Senior Project 2-Hour House Meeting #1

1. What is answer 1 to your EQ? Be specific in your answer and write it like a thesis statement.

Answer 1 to my EQ "What is the most important factor of a skeletal remain in a criminal investigation?" is determining if the skeletal remains are in fact of forensic significance based on the presence of trauma.  

2. What possible evidence do you have to support this answer?

Possible evidence that I have to support this answer includes:

• According to the ANT 203 Anthropology and the Scientific Method Lecturer in the City College of San Francisco Professor Mark Dobbs, MA the shape of a bone will reveal its function and the locomotion of its owner when analyzing if the remains are human or non human. Since approximately 40% of remains that have been reported to be human remains were in fact those of dogs, deer, pigs, cows, horses, and even birds! By determining if it's human and shows evidence of someone's death at a early stage shows that both time and money will be saved.
• According to the forensic anthropologist author of the Bone Detective, Diane France, you can feel the greasy patina and the decomposition chemical of the fatty acids that are leaking out of the cranium that has been caused by biological decomposition when trauma force struct the individual. Knowing this, you can easily differ a modern death with that of a "Crô-Magnon," a couple of thousand year old individual who did not live in our era.
• In October of 2011,when building a post for a freeway system, construction workers pulled up an entire set of skeletal remains from their work station and quickly called authorities to report a crime that has taken place under a freeway. When a forensic anthropologist known as Michael Browning came into the scene he quickly identified the remains as that of a California-native individual who was approximately 1,000-1,500 years old give or take a few years based on the level of preservation and the cubic capacity of the cranium that was much larger than that of a modern human. Also, panther-like bite marks were present all over the cranium as well as in four of the rib cages. With this being said, action to take a full criminal investigation was halted and unattested when there was no forensic significance presence to take a full investigation.

3. What source(s) did you find this evidence and/or answer?

Sources that I found my evidence and answer include:

• ANT 203 Anthropology and the Scientific Method Lecturer recording at the City College of San Francisco Professor Mark Dobbs was my evidence for the first fact that supported my answer. "Anthropology, Forensics and the Scientific Method: Real World Applications" Lecture:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49yx8FEIaPY
• Diane France presentation of her works of her authorship of Bone Detective to the Distinctive Voices of British Columbia, Canada who answered the second fact that supported my answer. "The Bone Detective" Presentation:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcnGybzFhjM&feature=related
• The local news report on Forensic Anthropologist, Michael Browning for the Los Angeles Coroner's Office provided me evidence and support as a notable example of the importance of finding forensic significance in any skeletal remain report. "Public asked to help ID skeletal remains found near Morton" News report:  http://www.king5.com/news/Skeletal-remains-found-near-Morton-132162938.html