15.1.9: Key Terms

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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.)