ABSTRACT
Distinguishing between human and nonhuman bone is a task that should only be undertaken by a forensic anthropologist or individuals experienced in osteology. The purpose of including this chapter is twofold — first, it is included to demonstrate that nonhuman bones can easily be mistaken for human bones and to reinforce why an experienced osteologist should be making the final determination; and second, this chapter is also included for forensic anthropology students to introduce them to different examples of nonhuman bones that can be easily confused with human bones. There are several questions that the experienced forensic anthropologist or forensic archaeologist should be able to answer in the field. These include determining whether the suspected material is actually bone, and if it is bone, is it human or nonhuman? For example, rocks will appear in shapes that can mimic human bones. One rule of thumb is that rocks are usually heavier than bone. The irregular bones that could be mistaken for rocks such as the patella, carpals (wrist bones), or tarsals (ankle bones) tend to have a higher concentration of trabecular or cancellous bone, making them significantly lighter than rocks. An experienced forensic anthropologist will have no problem distinguishing nonosseous material from bone.
