Scheuer Louise
Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Royal Free and University College Medical School, London NW3 2PF, United Kingdom.
Clin Anat. 2002 Jun;15(4):297-312. doi: 10.1002/ca.10028.
The four main features of biological identity are sex, age, stature, and ethnic background. The forensic osteologist aims to establish these attributes for an individual from their skeletal remains. Many techniques are available for the osteological determination of sex in the adult but it is one of the most difficult biological factors to ascribe to juvenile remains. Conversely, there are a multitude of markers to estimate age in the young skeleton but ageing becomes less accurate with increasing years. Stature is usually a relatively straightforward parameter to establish in the adult. In the juvenile, it is naturally correlated with age but is complicated by differences in rates of growth both between the sexes and between individuals. Determination of ethnic identity is the least reliable and is hampered by lack of data on many populations. This paper reviews the principal methods used to establish identity and comments on their reliability and accuracy in the forensic context.
生物特征的四个主要特征是性别、年龄、身高和种族背景。法医人类学家旨在从骨骼遗骸中确定个体的这些特征。有许多技术可用于通过骨骼学确定成年人的性别，但这是最难从青少年遗骸中推断的生物因素之一。相反，有许多指标可用于估计青少年骨骼的年龄，但随着年龄增长，年龄推断的准确性会降低。在成年人中，身高通常是一个相对直接的参数。在青少年中，身高自然与年龄相关，但由于性别之间和个体之间生长速度的差异而变得复杂。种族身份的确定最不可靠，且因许多人群缺乏数据而受到阻碍。本文回顾了用于确定身份的主要方法，并对其在法医背景下的可靠性和准确性进行了评论。
