Animal skulls will have larger faces in comparison to the skull. If you find a skull you’re not sure about, call the police.

Also, check for how far the nose and face extend outward. In animals, the nasal area extends much farther out than in humans.

Think about how humans walk versus how a dog or even a gorilla walks for instance. The human head extends straight upward from the shoulder, while a dog or gorilla head comes up at an angle. If you think about where the connection point would be, you’ll be able to establish where the hole should be on each animal.

Herbivores, animals that eat only vegetation, will have very small canines or none at all. Also, with the exception of horses, humans have larger incisors than other mammals. The incisors are the straight-edged teeth at the very front of the mouth.

It’s easiest to tell the difference when you view the pelvis from the side. An animal pelvis will be thinner, almost flat. A human pelvis is much wider from the side with curved bones. It almost extends fully across the body from front to back. [4] X Research source The wide human pelvis provides support to the upper body, helping humans to walk upright. [5] X Research source

For instance, the width of an ape’s rib cage extends down almost to the elbow as they walk. If you hold your arms out in front of you, you’d see that your rib cage doesn’t extend nearly that far.

This curved shape helps the body absorb shock and keeps the head upright.

The arch is kept in place by ligaments. Also, the big toe on an ape faces outward, perpendicular from the other toes. In a human, all of the toes go in the same direction. In addition, humans bear weight on the whole foot, which is why it is long and narrow. Other animals mainly bear weight on their toes.

For instance, an ape or even a horse bears weight on all 4 legs, so the upper limbs are more developed.

Look for the long bone starting just above the knee and extending up towards the pelvis.

To look at a cross section, you will need to find a bone that’s broken or cut one to look inside it. If you’re not sure whether the bone is animal or human, you should definitely call the police before cutting into it.

Similarly, the inside of the human skull will look spongy. On the other hand, something like a sun-bleached turtle shell can look like human skull when it’s in pieces, but it won’t be spongy inside the bone. [9] X Research source