Bone, the Frame of Human Classification: The Core of Anthropology.
Osteology of course is the scientific study of bones, practiced by osteologists, a subdiscipline of anatomy, anthropology, and archaeology. It is a detailed study of the structure of bones, skeletal elements, teeth, microbone morphology, function, disease, pathology, the process of ossification, the resistance and hardness of bones.
While biological anthropology, also known as physical anthropology, is a scientific discipline which deals with the biological and behavioral aspects of human beings, their related non-human primates and their extinct hominin ancestors.
It is a subfield of anthropology that provides a biological perspective to the systematic study of human beings. Thus it addresses the intersection of behavior, culture and biology and how these systems impact health and well-being. One would wonder how bone forms the core of Anthropology. This short editorial will focus on the importance of bone one of the skeletal elements used in anthropological investigations.
These should be determined before attempting to ascertain the height of the individual possibly because of the differences that occur between populations, sexes, and age groups. By knowing all the variables associated with height, a more accurate estimate can be made by the investigators.
This is one of the easiest tasks as there are only 2 choices. Sexual dimorphism which is the differences in the size and shape that exit between males and females helps in determining the sex
of the remains. The marked appearance of sexual dimorphic traits on bones is not apparent until
puberty; so it is easier to assign the sex of a skeleton to an adult as opposed to the underage.
The pelvis is a basin like shape bone–the transition between the trunk and the lower limb,10 it is extremely useful in the determination.
