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Alan Vincent Forensic Anthropology This paper is an examination of forensic anthropology, a subfield of physical anthropology that applies physical anthropology for use in forensics. In this paper, we will briefly examine the history of the field, practical uses of forensic anthropology, and the techniques utilized by a forensic anthropologist to identify the remains of a human being. History The first use of anthropology in a forensic capacity may have been at the end of the 19th century by the Italian physician Cesare Lombroso, who inaccurately stated that criminals could be easily identified by anatomical stigmata (Snow). Following the initial failure by Lombroso, a French anthropologist Alphonse Bertillon devised a new way to identify criminals by using a series of 11 anthropometric measurements (known as the Bertillonage system) to create a description of criminal. This system was adopted by police until the 1920’s when fingerprinting was introduced (Snow). Not to be deterred by these false starts, in 1978 Thomas Dwight (sometimes referred to as the father of forensic anthropology) published The Identification of the Human Skeleton: A Medicolegal Study followed by a series of papers over the next 2 decades – two (one dealing with age and sex difference in the sternum and the other in sex differences in articular surfaces of long bones) are still used today (Snow). In 1939, Wolton Krogman published Guide to the Identification of Human Skeletal Material, which later assisted physical anthropologists with identification of victims of the Second World War (Bidmos). In 1949,a physical anthropology section was added to the American Academy of Forensic sciences (Snow), and by 1987 forensic anthropology had fully developed and had it’s own section a the meeting of the International Association of Forensic Sciences (Bidmos). Practical Uses Today forensic anthropology is used for a variety of reasons. Criminal cases, war crimes, and identifying remains of large scale disasters are all common reasons for calling in a forensic anthropologist (Bidmos). In criminal cases a forensic anthropologist may be called in when human remains are found during archaeological excavation, or when badly decomposed, burned or skeletonized remains are found by law enforcement or members of the public (Adebisi). One of the early cases of this that was made famous was of the prosecution of Adolph Luetgert in 1897. Luetgert was accused of killing his wife and disposing of her body in his sausage factory. When bones were found in his factory, an anthropologist named George Dorsey was able to identify the fragments of a metatarsal bone, toe phalanx, sesamoid and rib head as those belonging to a human female. This was much to the dismay of the defense who had contended that the bones were those of animals (Snow). In 2005 an example of forensic anthropology was used in identifying the Kurdish victims in a mass Iraqi grave. Christopher King and his colleagues examined the 114 skeletons finding only 30 adults – 2 men, and 28 women. victims were children. The remaining King was able to discover that a few victims were tied or blindfolded, and the rest stood at the side of the grave and were mowed down by AK-47 assault rifles. As a result of these findings, Saddam Hussein, Ali Hassan al-Majid al-Tikriti and 5 others were tried on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity (Pringle). Forensic anthropology assists in disasters to identify the deceased and allow their remains to be returned to their families for proper recognition, religious observances, grieving, and judicial matters of estate (Wilkinson) to it can also help with understanding why they were victims and help reshape policy. During the reconstruction of a disaster cultural factors are often discovered that may explain why the victims were in the wrong place at the wrong time. In addition, factors such as discrimination (as in the case of who gets food during famine) may be discovered which can shape future policy to prevent disasters from occurring again (Oliver-Smith). Techniques When a forensic anthropologist is presented with a case, the anthropologist will follow a protocol that is best outlined as a sequence of questions: (Snow) Are the remains human? Do they represent a single or group of individuals? When did death occur? How old was the person? What was their race? What was their Sex? What was their stature, weight, physique? Are there any significant anatomical anomalies that can help with identification? Cause of death? Manner of death? (natural, accident, suicide, homicide, unknown) To answer the first two questions, an examination of the teeth and bones are most common. Anatomical variety in populations and the fact that no two skeletons are identical allow the anthropologist to observe patterns of unique skeletal traits that assists with identification (Adebisi). In addition, DNA evidence can now be used to identify the remains, or at least what population they came from (Bosveld). difficult to answer. Time of death is more Weathering and taphonomy can help determine the age of bones. In addition, knowing the acidity of the soil and how much this has affected the bones may help. Examination of insects and plant material around the body may give additional clues (Adebisi). Examination of the bones on an Osteometric board (which allows very precise measurements of the bones) can help the forensic anthropologist determine age, sex, stature, physique, ethnicity, manner, and cause of death. Individuals under the age of 20 typically do not have the ends of the epiphyses fused to the diaphysis. Once an individual is over 20, age can be determined by the degree and location of cranial suture closure and the degree of erosion of the pubic symphysis and the amount of osteophytic lipping of the vertebral bodies. skull and pelvis often can determine sex. Examination of the In general, males have more robust, angular and prominent skulls than females. The pelvis is the next area to look for sex identification. Males tend to have narrow pelvic bones, whereas females tend to have wide ones. If enough bones are found, there are a variety of measurements that can be put together in a formula to determine stature. Cranial observations are most useful in determining ethnicity and are commonly divided into 3 groups – Asian, African, Caucasoid. (All techniques attributed to Naples) Facial reconstruction, the artistic interpretation of human remains to attempt to depict the face of the individual while living, is a final step in identifying the deceased individual (Wilkinson) While the cause and manner of death is much more difficult without a fleshed body, during skeletal trauma analysis, some forensic anthropologists can accurately determine whether sharp force, blunt force, or ballistic injury occurred before death (antemortem), near the time of death (perimortem), or after death (postmortem). By examining the marks left on bone, particularly skilled forensic anthropologists may be able to determine general class characteristics of the weapon used. A forensic anthropologist's analysis of skeletal trauma can assist the Medical Examiner in determining cause and manner of death (natural, accidental, homicide, suicide) (Adebisi) Conclusion From it’s small beginnings slightly over 100 years ago, forensic anthropology has become an increasingly more important field. Through its techniques, it assists local law enforcement with investigating crimes, governments investigating war crimes, and helps societies in a manner of different ways following disasters. Through new technology such as DNA profiling, the field is bound to expand and find a variety of new uses to society. References Adebisi, S. S. (2009). Forensic Anthropology In Perspective: The Current Trend. Internet Journal Of Forensic Science, 4(1), 4. Bidmos, M. A., Gibbon, V. E., & Štrkalj, G. (2010). RECENT ADVANCES IN SEX IDENTIFICATION OF HUMAN SKELETAL REMAINS IN SOUTH AFRICA. South African Journal Of Science, 106(11/12), 29-34. doi:10.4102/sajs.v106i11/12.238 Bosveld, J., & Barth, A. (2010). Gone But Not Forgotten. Discover, 31(6), 46-52. Naples, V. L., Breed, D., & Miller, J. S. (2010). A Skeleton Tells Its Own Story: Forensic Analyses of Skeletal Elements for the Science Classroom Laboratory. American Biology Teacher, 72(3), 162-171. doi:10.1525/abt.2010.72.3.7 Oliver-Smith, A. (1996). Anthropological research on hazards and disasters. Annual Review Of Anthropology, 25(1), 303. Pringle, H. (2009). Witness to Genocide. Archaeology, 62(1), 28-65. Snow, C. (1982). FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY. Annual Review Of Anthropology, 1197-131. Wilkinson, C. (2010). Facial reconstruction – anatomical art or artistic anatomy?. Journal Of Anatomy, 216(2), 235-250. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7580.2009.01182.x