Skeletons speak: Forensic anthropologist shares secrets at U3A talk

GEORGE NEWS - While crime series, especially those centred around forensic investigations, are hugely popular, not many people have had the privilege of rubbing shoulders with a real-life forensic scientist.

On Wednesday 30 July, U3A George/Wilderness had such an opportunity when seasoned forensic anthropologist Belinda Speed gave a fascinating talk on her work to a solid crowd of about 95 people.

Speed has been a forensic anthropologist since 2007 and has worked with the missing persons task team on Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) cases, and with the SAPS, the Hawks and Forensic Pathology to assist with the identification of deceased persons.

Titled ‘What’s under your skin’, Speed’s talk outlined how the human skeleton reveals clues about a person’s life after his life. From looking at the bones in the context of environmental and other circumstances, experts like Speed are able to determine, among other things, whether the remains are animal or human, what the sex and age are, what health complications the person may have had, as well as the cause and time of death.

She explained how the skull and pelvis were key in estimating the sex, as these bones differ significantly in men and women due to the impact sex chromosomes have on their growth. When it comes to age estimation, she explained they looked at growth plates to determine at which stage of growth finalisation a skeleton is. While babies’ bones are still in pieces, an adult skeleton only stops growing at age 30. The last bone to stop growing, she said, is the inside of the collarbone.

Then, after growth is completed, the body pauses from age 30 to 40 and then starts to slowly degenerate.

She also explained how different trauma-identifying features such as holes from bullet wounds, chop marks from a sharp object such as a panga, missing teeth and cavities without fillings can provide valuable information about how a person lived and possibly died.

She cautioned that it was not a forensic anthropologist’s job to determine and outright state the cause of death, but merely to take all the information offered up by the bones, put it together into a report and hand it over to the police to help them solve the case.

Belinda Speed gives a presentation to U3A George/Wilderness members and guests.