Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 3, 2025

Systematic Assessment of Mammalian Skull Specimens for Dental and Temporomandibular Joint Pathology
Published on: August 22, 2022
[The experience of comparing reconstructions of the external appearance made on skulls with existing lifetime
E V Veselovskaya1, Yu V Rashkovskaya1, E A Prosikova1
1Center of Physical Anthropology of N.N. Miklukho-Maklai Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Moscow, Russia.
Abstract:
The conducted research is aimed at correcting the method of graphic reconstruction of the appearance based on the skull. The method is widely used in both anthropology and criminology. The Forensic Center of Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia was sent the skulls for which there were lifetime photographs. The restoration of the appearance in the form of graphic reconstructions was carried out by students who completed the course of Anthropological reconstruction at the RSUH, under the guidance of Prof., head of the Laboratory E.V. Veselovskaya. Strictly after the restoration of the appearance was completed, lifetime photos were provided, on the basis of which the degree of similarity of the reconstruction with the original was assessed. The purpose of the experiment is to correct the method of graphic reconstruction of the appearance based on the skull and supplement it with new details. Anthropologists carried out gender and age determination of individuals for a more accurate representation of appearance. Based on the results of comparing lifetime photographic images with the performed reconstructions, it can bed that their overall satisfactory level of compliance is sufficient for correct identification. However, a number of inaccuracies have been identified. As a result, areas of the face have been identified that require further refinement of the method of anthropological reconstruction. So, the thickness, and especially the shape, of the lips turned out to be an unresolved problem. The size of the iris is an important physiognomic feature. It is recommended to clarify the definition of the skull of the lifetime physiognomic height of the face, the width of the nose and the distance between the nasolabial folds.
Related Concept Videos
Sutures of the Skull
Sutures are immobile joints between adjacent bones of the skull. The narrow gap between the bones is filled with dense, fibrous connective tissue that unites the bones. The long sutures located between the skull bones are not straight but instead follow irregular, tightly twisting paths. These twisting lines tightly...
Overview of the Skull
The cranial vault surrounds and protects the brain and houses the middle and inner ear structures. This cavity is bounded superiorly by the rounded top of the skull, which...

