Deck 16: Postmortem Changes to Bone

Question 1

Which of the following information can be used to estimate living body weight from a decedent?

A) Weight of decedent's bones
B) Size of dress associated with decedent
C) Demographic characteristics
D) All of the above

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which of the following phases of water transport causes damage to the body?

A) First, when body sinks to bottom of body of water
B) Second, when body floats to surface
C) Third, when individual bones are moved
D) All of the above

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which of the following types of saws cause coarse, straight striations on a cut bone surface?

A) Circular saw with many teeth
B) Straight saw with many teeth
C) Circular saw with few teeth
D) Straight saw with few teeth

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which of the following types of saws cause fine, straight striations on a cut bone surface?

A) Circular saw with many teeth
B) Straight saw with many teeth
C) Circular saw with few teeth
D) Straight saw with few teeth

Question 5

Which of the following aspects of saws would be of interest to law enforcement agencies in cases of dismemberments?

A) Number of teeth
B) Blade width
C) Blade shape
D) All of the above

Question 6

Which of the following types of saw marks on bone would not contain information on the width of the instrument used in a dismemberment?

A) Superficial false start scratches
B) False start kerfs
C) Sectioned bone cuts
D) Breakaway spur

Question 7

Which of the following types of saw marks on bone contains the least amount of information about the instrument used in a dismemberment?

A) Superficial false start scratches
B) False start kerfs
C) Sectioned bone cuts
D) Breakaway spur

Question 8

Which of the following characteristics of saws is most helpful in determining the blade width of a saw used to dismember a human body?

A) Type of saw (e.g., crosscut, rip)
B) Tooth set
C) Saw shape (e.g., straight, circular)
D) All of the above

Question 9

Which of the following steps for analyzing dismemberments is common to all forensic anthropological analyses?

A) Photograph cut bone ends
B) Removal of 3 inches of bone around cut
C) Incise an identification notch in lab bone cut
D) Removal of soft tissue

Question 10

Which of the following forms of postmortem changes are most likely caused by exposure to rain and sunshine?

A) Dismemberments
B) Scavenging
C) Water transport damage
D) Weathering

Question 11

Which of the following forms of postmortem changes are most likely caused by carnivores?

A) Dismemberments
B) Scavenging
C) Water transport damage
D) Weathering

Question 12

Which of the following postmortem injuries to bone are likely caused by carnivores?

A) Punctures
B) Pits
C) Scoring
D) All of the above

Question 13

Which of the following postmortem injuries to bone are likely caused by carnivores chewing on the ends of bones?

A) Punctures
B) Pits
C) Scoring
D) Furrows

Question 14

Which of the following forces cause bones to crack?

A) Weathering
B) Burial
C) Fire
D) All of the above

Question 15

Which of the following occurs in bone that has been exposed for a considerable length time to weathering?

A) Cracking
B) Flaking
C) Shrinkage
D) All of the above

Question 16

Which of the following color changes is associated with a high-temperature fire?

A) Brown
B) Black
C) Yellow
D) White

Question 17

Which of the following results of fire damage is most likely to be mistaken for being due to blunt trauma?

A) Blackening of bone
B) Transverse fractures
C) Bone shrinkage
D) Checkerboard fractures

Question 18

Which of the following results of fire damage is most likely to affect sex and stature calculations?

A) Blackening of bone
B) Checkerboard fractures
C) Bone shrinkage
D) Concentric fractures

Question 19

Which of the following color changes is associated with a low-temperature fire?

A) Brown
B) Dark grey
C) Blue
D) White

Question 20

Fire damage takes which of the following forms?

A) Blackening of bone
B) Checkerboard fractures
C) Concentric fractures
D) All of the above

Question 21

Which of the following postmortem injuries to bone are likely caused by rodents?

A) Punctures
B) Pits
C) Grooves
D) Furrows

Question 22

Which of the following postmortem injuries to bone caused carnivores is not seen in human dismemberments?

A) Removal of the upper limbs
B) Removal of anterior portions of the chest
C) Removal of the lower limbs
D) All of the above

Question 23

Which of the following forms of postmortem changes are most likely caused by humans?

A) Dismemberments
B) Scavenging
C) Water transport damage
D) Weathering

Question 24

Which of the following is a reason to study forensic taphonomy?

A) Postmortem damage may appear as perimortem trauma
B) Postmortem damage may be misidentified as a health condition
C) Postmortem damage may provide information surrounding death of descedent
D) All of the above

Question 25

In cases of dismemberment, accident is the most likely manner of death.

Question 26

Dismemberment can be due to both natural (e.g., carnivores) and artificial (e.g., humans) forces.

Question 27

Postmortem changes to human remains can be due to natural (e.g., weather) or artificial (e.g., human caused) forces.

Question 28

Water transport damage involves bone shrinkage that could negatively influence calculations of stature.

Question 29

Burial damage involves bone shrinkage that could negatively influence calculations of stature.

Question 30

Weathering can mimic the effects of blunt force trauma as well as obscure its presence.

Question 31

Weathering can cause cracking, warping, and flaking of cortical bone.

Question 32

Bone shrinkage due to fire can be extensive and could negatively influence calculations of stature.

Question 33

The human skull can explode during burning due to the buildup of steam pressure inside the cranial vault.

Question 34

There are a number of different saws that can be used to dismember a human body.

Question 35

A false start kerf is caused when a saw blade is drawn across a bone without much pressure.

Question 36

Bone that has been burned for a long time in a hot fire (e.g., over 800°) will be black in color.

Question 37

Although burning can remove a lot of information about the sex, age, race, and other characteristics of a victim, positive identification is still possible.

Question 38

There are differences in the pattern of skeletal removal between the carnivore scavenging and human-caused dismemberment.

Question 39

Carnivore scavenging involves random consumption and dismemberment of human remains.

Question 40

Carnivores can cause punctures, pits, and scoring on human bone.

Question 41

Hand saws generally leave cuts in bone with smooth, almost polished walls.

Question 42

Striations on the cut surface of bone can aid in the determination of blade shape.

Question 43

The width of a kerf is the same as the width of the saw blade that caused it.

Question 44

The length breakaway spur may provide a clue as to the width of the saw blade used to cut bone.

Question 45

The checkerboard cracking due to fire is fairly distinct, and unlikely to be confused with cracks formed from other forces.