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In ideal circumstances, authorities could identify who it is and learn when the person was born. But, most discoveries of dead bodies lead to more questions about identity and age, unless the person died at home, in a hospital, or institution.

In unidentified bodies or badly decomposed remains, forensic scientists and anthropologists use the bones to roughly determine age. For example, from birth on the skull has several open lines or sutures in the bone. After the early 20s, these lines "close" as bone continues to form in those areas. By old age, the edges of these sutures are less pronounced than in younger years; imagine a charcoal drawing of two uneven lines that you "fill in" with more charcoal, then "smudge" the edges so the "lines" are no longer the most prominent feature in the area, yet you still can recognize it as a skull suture.

As well, the long bones have growth plates during infancy and childhood through the teenage years. But once growth has stopped, the appearance of the growth plates change. The ends of the long bones have visible changes during adulthood.

The elderly often have osteoporosis, or "brittle bones". Calcium is pulled from the teeth and bones because of illness, lack of sunshine, improper diet, etc. So a body that shows porous bones would likely be over the age of 50 years old.

To determine sex and age, the pelvis is of vital importance. In women of childbearing age who have had children, the pelvis is wider, broader, and the back part shows flattening. A male's pelvis is more narrow, less broad, and has no flattening within the pelvic bone.

In addition, height can determine whether a body is more likely male vs. female, since few females would stand over 6-feet tall. However, in a corpse that would measure 5' to 5'8", other clues would be more important to determine sex (see above).

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