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The first type of discipline in forensic anthropology is forensic archaeology. In the past, forensic archaeology was not under the same umbrella as forensic anthropology. Today, we define it as, “‘the application of simple archaeological recovery techniques in death scene investigations involving a buried body or skeletal remain’ (Morse et al., 1983,p. 1)” (Dirkmaat et al. 2008). Before forensic archaeology came into being, investigations were dictated by the officials. This proved to be very ineffective and pales into comparison how efficient forensic archaeologists were instead. Forensic archaeology was then soon implemented and broken off into four sections: methodological improvements, implementation of new technology, development of analytical techniques, and development of archaeological recovery methods (Dirkmaat et al. 2008). All of these methods combined assisted anthropologists to recover evidence associated with crimes and cases. Archaeology provided the foundation of what forensic anthropology is through the use of several recovery techniques archaeologists had.
When an investigation is initiated, the first step is to locate any skeletal remains and go through the basic checklist beginning to conclude if the remains are from an animal or a human (Krishan et al. 2012). If it is confirmed that the remains originate from a human body, the forensic scientists are then granted the authority to further examine the remains. The physical state and composition of the remains also determine the methods of techniques that would be exercised. A body with skin and/or flesh enables investigators to obtain hair follicles for DNA testing, fingerprints, and even facial recognition. The field of forensic osteology comes into play in a scenario where the only remains are bones. Since forensic osteology centralizes its focus on the biological standpoint of bones, this enables scientists to identify the victim’s gender, age, race, and other physical traits (Krishan et al. 2012). The utilization of forensic osteology enables investigators to pinpoint the victim’s identity through the estimations and factors of the victim’s remains. One prominent method of identifying a victim’s gender is the shape of the human’s pelvis (Donato et al. 2006). Females biologically have pelvises and sciatic notches that are wider than males to accommodate for giving birth. In addition, a female’s ventral arch protrudes more opposed to males as well (Donato et al. 2006). Correctly identifying the victim is one of the most crucial parts of an investigation and is accentuated by the plethora of data forensic scientists are required to collect to properly determine. Once the victim is identified, the police department is then granted permission to match any possible missing people within the vicinity of the crime.
Due to the fact that forensic scientists must be absolutely confident in correctly identifying the identity of a victim, more osteology techniques must be employed to provide more accurate data to fend off estimations as much as possible. Aside from identifying gender, osteology allows scientists to estimate the stature of the skeleton. This can be found by observing the length and conditions of bones. With the amount of data collected with statues, “Researchers have established a relationship between stature and various body parts like head and face, upper and lower limb bones, vertebral column, hands, and feet and have concluded that stature can be estimated successfully from various body parts and human bones” (Krishan et al. 2012). The various bones that make up a body, researchers have concluded that the length of bones are linearly positive with one’s height (Krishan et al. 2012). The reminisce of bones may also guide forensic anthropologists to determine a moderate age of the victim as well. According to an academic article, “Study of Skeletal Remains: Solving a Homicide Case with Forensic
Anthropology and Review of the Literature” (2016), if there are no fragmentations on the bones, we could examine how mature the bones are “to perform the evaluation of the age at death: long bone have completed their process of formation and reached their final shape, indicating a minimum age limit of 20-22 years”. Different phrases of maturation of bones indicated different ranges of age estimates (Donato et al. 2006). Despite the multitude of techniques osteology has to offer, extraneous factors still affect the overall estimations of the human skeleton; however, forensic anthropologists have continued to research and build on strategies with the newer technology to minimize outside factors.
Once information is gathered upon the victim’s remains, the setting and environment of the case are taken into account where the third type of discipline, taphonomy is incorporated. In situations where environmental factors affect the body itself, taphonomy helps forensic anthropologists determine the cause of death. Taphonomy’s main focus are with situations that are after the fact or “the study of the transition of animal remains from the biosphere to the lithosphere or geological record (Efremov, 1940, p. 86)” (Dirkmaat et al. 2008). By studying how human bodies decompose in different environmental settings, anthropologists are able to decipher a variety of clues during the decomposition to provide a clearer perspective for investigators as to what happened during the scene. Even though taphonomy helps investigators pick up clues after the fact, it is a race against time. The reminisce of bones are typically challenging for investigators since decomposition complicates the case as time passes since the time of death (Donato et al. 2006). Albeit this major downside, our technology and data can help alleviate situations where it’s difficult to get to the scene of the crime in time. The scene of the case must always “‘…be well photographed prior to anv recovery attempt, by the anthropological team’ (Fisher et al., 1987)” (Galloway et al. 1990). The data collected through taphonomy provides scientists with a much better understanding by determining what caused the death, time since death, and even human intervention that may have occurred. Discovering these three pieces of information help the police department match potential suspects that may have been involved.
With the procedures and methods the disciplines of forensic anthropology requires, it is undeniable how quintessential anthropology has influenced and continues to influence the field of forensics. Each discipline contributes a vital part that covers many different cases and investigations through uncovering the cause of death, the time of death, and identifying the victim. Having the ability to learn the victim’s gender, age, and stature enables investigators to locate the missing person and suspect. Additionally, the field of forensic anthropology allows detectives to use external factors such as the environment to their advantage when uncovering more clues. In retrospect, the disciplines of what makes forensic anthropology today serves a big role in not just science, but social justice as well.
Bibliography
- Dirkmaat, Dennis C., et al. “New Perspectives in Forensic Anthropology.” American Journal of Physical Anthropology, vol. 137, no. S47, 2008, pp. 33–52., doi:10.1002/ajpa.20948.
- Donato, Laura, et al. “Study of Skeletal Remains: Solving a Homicide Case with Forensic Anthropology and Review of the Literature.” Journal of Forensic Anthropology, 30 June 2016, doi:10.1002/9781118384213.ch15.
- Galloway, Alison, et al. “Physical Anthropology and the Law: Legal Responsibilities of Forensic Anthropologists.” American Journal of Physical Anthropology, no. S11, 2005, pp.39-5., doi:10.1002/ajpa.1330330505.
- Krishan, Kewal, et al. “Forensic Anthropology Casework—Essential Methodological Considerations in Stature Estimation.” Journal of Forensic Nursing, vol. 8, no. 1, 6 Jan. 2012, pp. 45–50., doi:10.1111/j.1939-3938.2011.01122. x.
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