The Women-dibles and the Men-dibles

If you have read EVERYTHING so far, you're probably like

SO before we even begin with Question 2, here's a little trivia..

A tourist in Vienna is going through a graveyard and all of a sudden he hears some music. No one is around, so he starts searching for the source. He finally locates the origin and finds it is coming from a grave with a headstone that reads: Ludwig van Beethoven, 1770-1827. Then he realizes that the music is the Ninth Symphony and it is being played backward! Puzzled, he leaves the graveyard and persuades a friend to return with him. By the time they arrive back at the grave, the music has changed. This time it is the Seventh Symphony, but like the previous piece, it is being played backward. Curious, the men agree to consult a music scholar. When they return with the expert, the Fifth Symphony is playing, again backward. The expert notices that the symphonies are being played in the reverse order in which they were composed, the 9th, then the 7th, then the 5th. By the next day the word has spread and a throng has gathered around the grave. They are all listening to the Second Symphony being played backward. Just then, the graveyard's caretaker ambles up to the group. Someone in the group asks him if he has an explanation for the music.

"Don't you get it?" the caretaker asks incredulously. 

Take a guess before u uncover the answer at the end of the page ;)

On to the question.

First of all, what is a skeleton?

The Skeleton is an excellent material in the living and non living population for genetic, odontologic and forensic investigations. Skeletons vary from male to female and differentiation is usually based on the male features that are typically more pronounced than the female features.

The determination of sex by examination of the skeleton is based upon the appearances of
a)Skull
b)Pelvis
c)Long bones
d)Sternum
e)Scapula, metacarpal bones


However, today we will be focusing on the "SKULL"

So what is a skull?

The skull is a bony structure which serves as the general framework for the head. The skull can be divided into 2 parts: cranium and mandible

So why is a skull important in forensic science ?

Forensic anthropologists are often called upon in situations where remains are badly decomposed and require an expert to determine the age, sex, height, and other traits that will help identify the deceased.

If an intact skull, or other bone, is present, the forensic anthropologist's job is much easier.

1.Age

The skull consists of several plates connected by what are called cranial sutures. These sutures gradually fuse over time, and fuse at different rates. While exact age cannot be determined by the appearance of the cranial sutures alone, an approximation of age can be determined

2.Race

Bone thickness and bone structure, are both used to help determine possible hereditary affiliation. Data has been collected through the years to help determine any structural differences between skulls of people with Asian, African, or European origins respectively

3.Health

Examination of the teeth can yield important information about diet, general health, and tobacco use.

4.Cause of death

Fractures and other traumas must be examined carefully to attempt to distinguish between traumas that are antemortem (before death) perimortem (at or around the time of death), or postmortem. Scavengers, and even the weather, can cause postmortem fractures that may appear to have been caused by perimortem violence. Weather, the chemical components of the area in which the skull was found, and many other factors play a role in how quickly the bone dries; therefore, the forensic anthropologist will take these factors into account when attempting to determine whether a skull injury occurred at the time of death of after

5.Sex ( our main concern for this question)

Firstly, the features of the skull that indicate sex are

1.General appearance


Male    = skull is usually larger, heavier, thicker and more rugged

Female = skull appears smaller, lighter, thinner  and more gracile

2.Supra orbital ridges


Supra orbital ridge is more marked in males

3.Orbits


Male   = Squarish with roundish margins

Female= Roundish with sharp margins

4.Glabella

Male   = Well developed

Female= ill developed

5.Zygomatic arches

Males    = Zygomatic arch is more pronounced, wider and tends to extend posteriorly beyond the 
               EAM

Females = Zygomatic arch is less pronounced,narrower and tends to not extend posteriorly beyond 
               the external auditory meatus (EAM)

6.Mastoid processes

Male    = Larger and more blunt

Female = Smaller and more pointed

7.External occipital protuberance


Inion may be more prominent in males, sometimes to point of appearing hook-shaped

8.Mandible (Chin and Ramus)

Chin

Male (left)       =  Mandible tends to have a square shape

Female (right)  = Mandible tends to have a pointed chin

Ramus

Male    = Mandible is wider, larger and closer to a right angle than the female

Female = The ramus is an obtuse angle to the lower jaw bone

9. Palate


Male    = Larger, wider and broader

Female = Smaller and narrower

10.Forehead

Male     =The frontal bone of males is slightly sloping or receding

Female  =The frontal bone tends to be more rounded

In general, These are the differences

Cranium Feature	Male	Female
Frontal Bone (forehead)	Lower/sloping	More vertical and rounded
Temporal Ridge	Large	Small
Bony superciliary arches (browridges)	Prominent	Absent/slight
Mastoid process	Large	Small (generally)
Supraorbital margin (ridge above eye)	Rounded	Sharp
External occipital protuberance (protrusion on lower back of the cranium)	Generally present	Generally absent
Nuchal crest (low ridge along the base of the cranium)	Rugged, well defined	Smoother, even absent
Nuchal line	Rugged and sharp	Absent
Zygomatic process (cheek bones)	Extends past external auditory meatus	Does not extend past (generally)
Mandible	Larger and more robust (thicker)	Smaller and lighter
Symphysis and mental eminence of mandible (chin)	Square	Rounded (generally) or pointed
Ramus of mandible	Straight	Slanting
Mandible gonion and gonion angle (back corner of jaw bone)	Flaring & sharply angled	Less so
Sinuses (air ways)	Larger	Smaller
Teeth	Larger	Smaller
Cranium	Deeper and larger by about 10%	Smaller
Total skull	Rougher, heavier	Smoother and more rounded

 This is an introductory video giving basic trait differences between male and female skulls.



NOW, the answer for the initial query is....

He's decomposing...