This email I had with a forensic anthropologist kind of addresses the issue:

----- Original Message -----
From: George W. Gill
To: Jaime Pretell
Sent: Saturday, August 16, 2003 12:29 PM
Subject: RE: Forensic Anthropology and Race


Dear Jaime,



In forensic anthropology we are surprisingly accurate in identifying individuals of mixed ancestry. Most Hispanics are in this category (in the American Southwest they show a blend of S. European trait and Mesoamerican). Since we have at least as many traits on the skeleton to use for the identification of ancestry as we do on the soft tissues, I am personally more accurate with the i.d. of skeletons than if I am telling ancestry when looking at a living person. We do this by assessing the percentage of traits on the skeleton that are characteristic of the particular ancestral populations. As you know African Americans have, on average, a fair amount of N. W. European ancestry which will show up just as well on skeletons as with the soft tissue traits (skin color, hair form, etc.). Regarding your question about the correlation of skeletal traits with such things as nose form, lips, skin color, etc. it actually varies. Nose form can be readily discerned from the skeleton, lip form and projection somewhat, and skin color not at all. But nearly all people who show a lot of sub-Saharan African trait skeletally will also be dark skinned, so we can make educated guesses on those traits as well. I hope that I have helped answer a few of your questions about this fascinating topic.



Best regards,



George W. Gill, Ph.D.

University of Wyoming



-----Original Message-----
From: Jaime Pretell [mailto:jaime_pretell@hotmail.com]
Sent: Saturday, August 16, 2003 11:58 AM
To: George W. Gill
Subject: Forensic Anthropology and Race



I always find it interesting to read your articles. I happen to be a "race" denier, but I see where you are coming from. I am curious how accurate Forensic Anthropology is with "Mixed" populations. I am also curious what features can and cannot be determined by Forensic Anthropology and what is more guesswork. For example, can you determine lip shape skin color or nose shape? I am also interested in Comparisons between African populations and the many indigenous populations that seem to be similar to Africans.

Sincerely,

Jaime Andres Pretell