Race Determination

Introduction

Race  is  determined  by following  :

1. Clothes  (for  example  Indian  dress  is  dhoti-kurta),
2. Complexion  (for  example
3. Hair  (for  example  curly  in  negroes)
4. Lips (for  example  thick  and everted  in negroes)
5. lris  (for  example  black or brown in  Indians)
6. Skeleton (cephalic  index,  brachial  index,  crural  index etc).

Race  determination of skeleton: 

The three key factors required to identify skeletal remains are age, sex and race

The cranium is the only reliable bone and, even then, can only tell general category as below:

• Mongoloid: wider cheekbones, square shaped skull, rounded apertures, concave incisors, width between eyes greatest
• Negro: Narrow elongated skull, squared orbit, rounded nasal aperture, more prominent ridges, wider nasal opening
• Caucasian: Rounded skull, elongated nasal aperture, triangular palate
• Cephalic index: Cephalic  index  is  defined as  the  index  of  breadth of skull

CI = width ÷ length x 100    or    CI = (Left/Right) ÷ (Front/Back) x 100.

• Dolico-cephalic: 70-75.(aryans, negroes).
• Mesati-cephalic: 75-80. (europe, chinese).
• Brachy-cephalic: 80-85. (mongoloids).

 Height index:- Height is measured from the tip of the mastoid process to bregma.                         

Height of skull ÷ length of skull x 100.

• Europeans – 71   Negros – 72.   Mongoloid – 75.
• Length – glabella to occipital protuberance.

Adult sex can be determined from skeleton.

• According to krogman accuracy in sexing;  Adult skeletal remains is:-
• entire skeleton 100%.
• pevis + skull 98%.
• pelvis alone 95%.
• skull alone 90%.
• long bones alone 80%.

FONTANALLES:

1.  Lat & occip, fontanalles – closes within 2 months.
2.  Post. Fontanalles – closes 6-8 months
3.  Ant. Fontanalles – closes 18 – 24 months.
4. Four carpal bones are present at age 4

SUTURES.

1.  Mandible unites – 2nd year.
2.  Metopic suture at 3rd year.
3.  Condylar part of the occip. Bone fuses with squama on 3rd year and with basi-occiput on 5th year sutures fuse in the inner side–25 yrs.
4. 30-40 yrs – post. Half of sagital suture.
5.  40-50 yrs – Ant. Half of sagital suture & lower half of coronal suture fuses.
6.  50-60 yrs – Middle half of sagital suture & lower half of coronal suture fuses.
7.  60 yrs – Sq.temporal fuses with other bones.

Race  determination by  Hair  

• Indians  have  black,  thin  hair,  Europeans  have fair or light  brown  hair
• Indians,  Mongolians  and  Europeans  have  straight  or wavy  hair.
• Negroes  have  wooly  hair  which  are curly  and  are fragmentedtyps (based  on  medulla)  with most  of the  shaft  being non-medullated,  i.e.,  absent Hair are  oval  an  cross  section  and have  dens pigmentation with an irregular  pattern.
• Caucasian  hair  are  round  or  oval on cross-section  with uniform  distribution  of fine or coarse  pigment.  Hair are Interrupted  (nonfregmented)  type.
• Mongolian  hair are  circular  on cross-section  and  has  a dens  uniform  pigmentation  and  dark medulla

Exam Important

Don’t Forget to Solve all the previous Year Question asked on Race Determination