Final answer:
The skull is the most reliable bone for determining race due to its unique features that vary widely among populations, while the femur and tibia may provide some indication of race based on proportions and morphology.
Step-by-step explanation:
To determine race from skeletal remains, different bones can provide various clues. The skull is the most common bone used to approximate race due to its numerous features that vary widely among different populations. Characteristics such as the shape of the orbital opening, the presence or absence of a nasal sill, the shape of the nasal opening, the angle of the jaw, and the form and size of the teeth contribute to racial identification.
The femur, a long bone, and the tibia, another long bone, might give some indication regarding the ancestry of an individual due to their proportions and morphology which can be linked to different geographic origins. However, they are less diagnostic than the features found on the skull. The radius is also a long bone and, like the femur and tibia, it might provide indirect clues, but it is not routinely used to determine race.
In forensic anthropology, measurements of long bones—such as the femur, tibia, and radius—can also help estimate height, which might contribute to a profile that includes race when considered alongside other information, but they are not as reliable for racial determination as cranial features.