In this lesson you will look at a skull and see if you can determine the difference between a male and female skull and look at a pelvis bone to determine sex.  You will also try to determine the race (caucasoid, negroid or mongoloid) of a skull along with bullet exit and entry wounds in a victim.

Look at the pictures below.  What differences between these two hipbones (pelvises) do you notice?

Which is a male and which is a female?

Answer: The one on the left is a male. It has an angle of less than 90° at the public arch, is higher and narrower, has a heart-shaped opening rather than a rounder opening, and the coccyx hangs lower.

Let’s take a look at how forensic anthropologist examine a skull to determine the race.  Examine the pictures below and become familiar with some of the structures.

Important features to look at in a skull:

Differences in the races using the skull:

1. In the negroid skull, the nasal opening is wide and short.  The nasal bone is medium in size and they have no nasal spine.  The nasal sill has a guttering shape.  The orbital cavities are square in shape.
   
2. In the caucasoid skull, the nasal opening is high and the nasal bone is high.  The nasal spine is projecting and the nasal sill is sharp.  The orbital cavities are angular oval in shape.
   
3. In the mongoloid skull, the nasal opening is medium, short and rounded.  The nasal bone is low and they do not have a nasal spine projecting.  The nasal sill is dull in shape and the orbital cavities are rounded. 

It is important to remember that many times the race of a victim cannot be determined from the skull because of the intermixing of the races.