However, often the skull is not available or it is not reliable due to deterioration, thus osteologists must use the bones available. Osteology can also help to determine the length of time since death. The first step of osteology is to have an understanding of the human skeleton . There are many terms and names to be familiar with. There are two types of traits that are looked at when dealing with skeletal remains, metric and non-metric.
Metric traits are the measured variations of bones.
Non-metric traits are the differences between individuals' bones that can not be measured. For instance, one person's bone may fuse differently than another person's. These typical tools used in osteology are measuring instruments for metric measurements. One of the first steps in osteology is determining whether the skeletal remains are human or another animal. While there is variation in every being, human or animal, there are general similarities in every species.