Deck 18: Bioarchaeology and Forensic Anthropology

Question 1

Forensic anthropologists are more interested in recording the hard attributes of findings than their contextual information.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Unlike bioarchaeologists, forensic anthropologists work with a primary focus on the individual.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Bioarchaeologists are frequently called to assist in identification of remains found in mass graves.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Forensic recovery is typically a/an __________ process.

A) speedy
B) tiresome
C) ongoing
D) preliminary

Question 5

Temporary structures, fence posts, and trees make excellent datum choices.

Question 6

Bioarchaeologists pay particular attention to __________ when trying to understand past behavior from a skeleton.

A) dentition
B) cultural attributes
C) medical records
D) genetic factors

Question 7

A __________ point represents a fixed position from which everything in a field site is measured so that the precise "find spot" of each object can be relocated in the future.

A) datum
B) chart
C) survey
D) focus

Question 8

Unlike pathologists and medical examiners, forensic anthropologists bring __________ to the study of skeletal remains.

A) an understanding of skeletal biology
B) legal expertise
C) a hard-tissue focus
D) all of the above

Question 9

The bioarchaeologist generally seeks to make positive individual identifications.

Question 10

The degeneration of the pubic symphysis can give clues as to the age of remains but not the gender.

Question 11

One way that bioarchaeologists differ from forensic anthropologists is in their focus on __________.

A) ancient remains
B) identification through DNA
C) the effect of disease on remains
D) all of these

Question 12

Bioarchaeologists take a __________ perspective, combining the biological profiles of a number of individuals to understand patterns of disease and behavior in the past.

A) population
B) biological
C) quantitative
D) cultural

Question 13

When scientists determine the age of remains, how do they report it?

A) as a single definitive number
B) in terms of place in a life cycle
C) as a range of ages
D) none of the above

Question 14

Which of the following is not part of the laboratory processing of remains?

A) cleaning off any remaining soft tissue
B) creating an inventory of remains
C) determining a datum point
D) laying out bones in anatomical position

Question 15

Bioarchaeologists and forensic anthropologists are both experts in __________.

A) osteological identification
B) archaeological field methods
C) assessing what happened at time of death
D) all of these

Question 16

An individual usually has lost all of their baby teeth by the age of __________.

A) 5
B) 8
C) 12
D) 16

Question 17

Which bone(s) is/are most useful for determining the age of death of an adult?

A) ear ossicles
B) clavicle
C) pubic symphysis
D) temporal bones

Question 18

Why is it that assessing the age of a subadult younger than about 18 years of age is more precise than estimating the age of an adult skeleton?

A) the teeth of children erupt at fairly predictable intervals
B) in children, the growth of limb bones can be used to assess age
C) closure of the fontanel can indicate age in small children
D) all of these

Question 19

Bioarchaeologists may look at the age, sex and distribution of grave goods in a prehistoric cemetery to consider patterns of __________. in the past.

A) disease
B) lifestyle change
C) criminal behavior
D) social stratification

Question 20

Why is a chain of custody so important for forensic anthropologists?

A) to prevent contamination of evidence
B) to have detailed records of those who participated in recovery efforts
C) to ensure that remains cannot be tampered with
D) all of the above

Question 21

All diseases or injuries leave marks on bone.

Question 22

Which of the following is something that postmortem trauma can tell researchers?

A) whether trauma was the result of crime
B) time of death
C) whether the individual experienced nutritional stress
D) establishing intent in murder cases

Question 23

Each individual has a unique frontal sinus, which can be used for identification.

Question 24

Evidence from premortem injuries and disease can inform scientists about __________.

A) nutritional stress
B) what happened right around the time of death
C) establishing how bones arrived at a site
D) ways in which various processes affect the skeleton after death

Question 25

___________ trauma helps investigators understand what happened right around the time of death.

A) postmortem
B) premortem
C) antemortem
D) perimortem

Question 26

Tatiana Zerjal and her colleagues found a group of men from Asia who shared a haplotype that they termed the __________ cluster.

A) Mongol
B) Genghis Khan
C) star
D) empire

Question 27

There is no biological reality to the idea of fixed biological races in humans

Question 28

Analysis of DNA can aid scientists in __________.

A) establishing how bones arrived at a site
B) repetitive activities individuals performed before they died
C) osteology
D) investigating relationships among groups

Question 29

One of the most difficult tasks for a forensic anthropologist is __________.

A) facial reconstruction
B) creating a biological profile
C) determining how long a victim has been dead
D) determining relationships among groups

Question 30

Currently, genetic testing as a method of determining ancestry is far too complicated and expensive for the average individual to use.

Question 31

Postmortem events often of greater interest to bioarchaeologists than they are to forensic anthropologists.

Question 32

What is the typical trajectory of decomposition?

A) cooling and rigidity, bloating, skin slippage, liquefaction, deflation, skeletonization
B) deflation, cooling and rigidity, bloating, skin slippage, liquefaction, skeletonization
C) cooling and rigidity, bloating, deflation, skin slippage, liquefaction, skeletonization
D) bloating, deflation, cooling and rigidity, skin slippage, liquefaction, skeletonization

Question 33

__________ are less concerned with perimortem trauma than are __________.

A) bioarchaeologists/forensic anthropologists
B) bioarchaeologists/ mortuary archeologists
C) forensic anthropologists/bioarchaeologists
D) mortuary archeologists/bioarchaeologists

Question 34

The Fully method for determining stature is less commonly used because __________.

A) it is less accurate than other methods
B) it requires a complete skeleton
C) it is better for determining age
D) none of these

Question 35

From the perspective of determining an individual's PGH, __________ is/are limited, because the results do not reflect the vast bulk of a person's genetic history.

A) the lineage-based approach
B) autosomal marker-based tests
C) ancestry informative markers
D) all of the above

Question 36

Height and weight estimates are more accurate if the population of the individual is known.

Question 37

Which of the following is not a way in which male and female skulls differ?

A) male skulls are more robust on average
B) the mastoid process of the temporal bone is larger in males
C) the orbital rim is sharper in males
D) the female frontal is more vertical

Question 38

Signs of health and disease in individuals provide bioarchaeologists with insight into __________.

A) the health status of a past population
B) the evolution of disease
C) nutritional status over time
D) all of the above

Question 39

The two parts of the skeleton that most readily reveal sex are the

A) pelvis and skull
B) pelvis and clavicle
C) femur and skull
D) skull and clavicle

Question 40

Anthropologists prefer to use the term __________, which takes into account the place of geographic origin and corresponds to biological realities better than the term race.

A) lineage
B) ancestry
C) heritage
D) extraction

Question 41

On Channel Island, an increase in population size and density due to an increased exploitation of marine foods led to __________.

A) a decline in general health
B) a decrease in interpersonal violence
C) less sedentary lives
D) simpler social organization

Question 42

Systematic changes in activity influence the development of the human skeleton.

Question 43

The Central Identification Laboratory was formed for what purpose?

A) to identify those who die in war
B) to identify bodies in mass graves
C) to investigate death due to human rights abuses
D) to respond to death due to natural disaster

Question 44

What are some of the different reasons that bioarchaeologists and forensic anthropologists construct biological profiles?

Question 45

What are some areas of expertise and interest that bioarchaeologists and forensic anthropologists share?

Question 46

Describe a typical recovery process for buried remains.

Question 47

Forensic anthropologists most commonly work on cases of mass fatalities.

Question 48

A key component to the bioarchaeological study of human remains is the emphasis on

A) determining the cause and manner of death
B) understanding the effect of disease and injury on remains
C) understanding the cultural context of remains
D) all of the above

Question 49

Comparisons of leg strength of Native Americans during the early contact period with Europeans with that of Native Americans living in missions in Georgia found the later groups to be __________.

A) stronger
B) weaker
C) equal in strength

Question 50

The field of forensic anthropology traces its professional origins to the __________.

A) 1900s
B) 1940s
C) 1970s
D) 1990s

Question 51

How is a chain of recovery established and why is it necessary to maintain one?

Question 52

Forensic anthropologists must follow the rules of the courts.

Question 53

Bioarchaeology can help us understand the evolution of disease and the role of culture change in the health of a population by providing __________.

A) biological profiles
B) detailed analysis of health indicators
C) environmental context
D) all of the above

Question 54

Comparisons of the strength of the femora of Native Americans from before and after a switch to sedentary agriculture show ___________ in the strength of the population.

A) an increase
B) a decrease
C) no significant change

Question 55

Why is contextual information so important in field recovery?

Question 56

Mortuary archaeology is the study of __________.

A) patterns of disease
B) ancient burial sites
C) circumstances surrounding the death of an individual
D) contemporary burial sites

Question 57

Describe some of the ways in which the age at death can be determined from remains. Why is it more difficult to determine the age of adult remains?

Question 58

The Central Identification Laboratory does very little independent research, instead focusing on field investigations.

Question 59

In the Cook Islands of the South Pacific, contact with Europeans led to __________.

A) an increase in secondary burials
B) rapid elimination of indigenous mortuary practices
C) the dead being buried closer to the living
D) an increase in individual burials

Question 60

A key component to bioarchaeological study of human remains is the emphasis on __________.

A) determining the identity of individuals
B) investigating the relationship among groups
C) determining motive in a crime scene
D) understanding the cultural context of remains

Question 61

Describe the differences between premortem, perimortem, and postmortem trauma and give examples of each.

Question 62

How have forensic anthropologists assisted in areas affected by war crimes and genocide?

Question 63

Describe the two basic approaches to determining personalized genetic histories.

Question 64

Describe how contact with European missionaries changed the burial practices of indigenous residents of the island of Mangaia in the South Pacific.

Question 65

How do the female and male pelvis differ?

Question 66

How can lifestyle, health and disease make a mark on a skeleton?

Question 67

How can mortuary archaeology give insights into a group's belief systems, kin structures and social organization?

Question 68

Why are bioarchaeologists and forensic anthropologists interested in the ancestry of remains? How do their interests in ancestry differ?