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15.1.9: Key Terms

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    136478
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    Antemortem trauma: Trauma occurring before death.

    Anterior: Toward the front.

    Bioarchaeology: The study of human remains excavated from archaeological sites.

    Biological ancestry: Refers to the underlying genetic differences between modern populations.

    Biological height: A person’s true anatomical height.

    Biological profile: An individual’s identifying characteristics or biological information, commonly including sex, age, ancestry, and stature.

    Burial assemblage: A set of human remains and associated artifacts associated with a single burial context.

    Burial context: The circumstances surrounding the formation of a burial assemblage, an understanding of which can help inform our understanding and interpretation of the burial.

    Commingled burials: Burial assemblages in which individual skeletons are not separated into discrete burials.

    Compact (cortical) bone: The outer layer of bone, made up of densely arranged osseous (bone) tissue.

    Dental development: The gradual replacement of deciduous (baby) teeth with adult teeth.

    Epiphyseal union (or epiphyseal fusion): The appearance and closure of the epiphyseal plates between the primary centers of growth in a bone and the subsequent centers of growth.

    Epiphyses: Ends of the bone, where growth occurs.

    Forensic anthropology: The analysis of the skeletal remains of recently deceased individuals (typically within the last 50 years) within the context of the law—or, in other words, as part of a criminal investigation.

    Gender: Culturally dependent identity of male or female.

    Osteon: Primary structural unit of compact bone.

    Perimortem trauma: Trauma occurring at or around the time of death.

    Phenotype: A set of outwardly observable characteristics for an individual.

    Positive identification: A scientifically validated method of identifying previously unidentified remains.

    Postmortem trauma: Trauma occurring after death.

    Pubic symphysis: A joint that joins the left and right halves of the pelvis anteriorly.

    Regression methods: Mathematical analysis that examines the relationship between dependent and independent variables.

    Reported stature: Self-reported height.

    Robusticity: Strength relative to size.

    Spongy (trabecular) bone: The inner layer of bone comprised of loosely organized porous bone tissue whose appearance resembles that of a sponge.

    Trauma: An injury to living tissue caused by an extrinsic force or mechanism. (See Lovell 1997, 139.)


    15.1.9: Key Terms is shared under a CC BY-NC license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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