9 Estimating Biological Affinity in the Skull
Assessing biological affinity in the skeleton cannot be done with a promise of great accuracy. Nonetheless, legal authorities often wish to have as much information for identification as possible. This is especially true when a burial is found, and it is suspected that the person was the victim of foul play.
Bear in mind that in all populations male skulls tend to be more rugged than females, and that this will complicate the assessment. Also remember that these characteristics are merely typical and not diagnostic, as they may be seen at variable frequencies in all human populations.
The following may be used in assessment of biological affinity:
| Affinity | Description |
| Australian Aborigine | Long cranium, deep set orbits, well developed brow ridges, pronounced postorbital constriction |
| San Bushman | Very short face, extremely prominent forehead, gracile skull form |
| American Indian | Round cranium, nasal overgrowth, shovel-shaped incisors, edge to edge bite, central incisors rotated toward midline, prominent zygomatics, smooth orbits, straight face |
| American Black | Long cranium, short face, smooth brow ridges, wide nasal aperture, nasal gutter, bregmatic depression, overbite, alveolar prognathism. |
| Euro-American | Variable cranial shape, variable size, narrow and orthognathic face, nasal sill, narrow nasal aperture, highly angled nasals, overbite, highest frequency of Carabelli’s cusp. |
