How do you know if you found a female or male or an old persons bone???

Question: How do you know if you found a female or male or an old persons bone???
- Keywords:
  bone,
  female,
  male
Asked by Doctor David to Michael on 7 Nov 2016. This question was also asked by Kaj.
- Michael Rivera answered on 7 Nov 2016:
  
  Let’s break this down into two parts:
  
  Male vs. female —
  I want you to feel your skull, just behind your earlobe. If you are a boy or a man, you should be able to find a big bump there, just behind your earlobe. If you are a girl or woman, no bump. This is the exact same way I would look at a skull found in archaeology and tell if it was male or female. Try this trick out with your classmates, family and teacher! But make sure you ask their permission first before you go touching people’s heads! 😛
  
  Old person —
  People who are older often have some joint problems – all of our joints have a squishy bit in between the bones called cartilage, and also some liquid called ‘synovial fluid’ that helps cushion the forces that act between bones. When you get older, the cartilage and the fluid runs out, and this can cause joint pain. On an archaeological person, I am able to see signs of these joint problems quite clearly. See if you can see little growths of bone at the joints at museums (if they have a skeleton on display!)
  
  Michael 🙂

Question: How do you know if you found a female or male or an old persons bone???