Download Mystery of the Bones

Mystery of the Bones
Webquest
Assignment:
During most of your days at school you are a normal student, but what you don’t know is
that I have been training you to become a forensic anthropologist. Your mission is of the
upmost importance, and it will be up to each of you to figure out the “unknown”
skeletons. In order to complete your
assignment you must determine the age, sex,
and height of the “unknowns.” Your job does
not stop there. You must further investigate
forensic art and how it applies to finding
missing persons. After you have gathered all
the information you must determine the
identities of the 4 “unknowns.”
www.biologycorner.com
click on Anatomy
click on “Skeleton Mystery”
Time Frame:
Step 1, research and background information
Step 2, missing persons, reconstruct skeleton
Step 3, facial reconstructions, hands and skull
Step 1
You are to work individually to research the listed pages and answer the questions for
each module. This will give you a good understanding of forensic anthropology and help
you identify the remains in the next steps.
Each person must have a separate sheet of answers.
Due: Friday, December 18th
Step 2 (The Scene)
Four complete human skeletons were found in the mud at Crystal Lake. Five people had
disappeared from that area over the last ten years, but only four bone skeletons have been
recovered.
-
The missing persons are listed
Print off the bone sets
Instructions
1. Each group of two will reconstruct the skeletons using glue, scissors and tape
2. Each bone of the skeleton should be labeled.
3. Next you will need to determine the identity of the bones based on age and height
a. Determine the gender of each skeleton by looking at the shapes of specific
bones
b. Use the formula given on the page to determine the height of the subjects.
4. On your reconstructed skeletons (4), include information about the gender and
height of the skeleton and you must have reasoning for your claims.
Step 3 (Determining Age)
Each of the skulls from the subjects were examined, and the photos of each skull are
shown on the page. Your goal is to determine their age (either over 35 or under 35) by
the sagittal sutures. As forensic anthropologists you know that sutures close fully by the
age of 35.
- On your reconstruction pages, indicate whether each skull of the person is over
35, or under 35.
Step 4 (Facial Reconstructions)
You have sent your skull to the forensic artist who has made a clay sculpture of what
your skeleton looked like. The results of the reconstruction are shown on the page.
Indicate on your reconstruction page which facial reconstruction fits with each of your
skeletons.
Overview:
1. Complete investigation questions (Friday, December 18)
2. Work in groups of 2 on the rest of the webquest
3. Work hard, but have fun
4. Due Date: Wednesday, December 23 (beginning of class)
* Media Center is reserved December 16-18 & 21, 22*