NCJ Number
124517
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 59 Issue: 7 Dated: (1990) Pages: 20-23
Date Published
1990
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Just as the investigation of crime has become increasingly complex, so, too, have the responsibilities of forensic anthropologists, whose job it is to assist legal and medical specialists in identifying known or suspected human remains.
Abstract
Forensic anthropologists make contributions to police investigations in a number of ways. The most important of these may be the anthropologist's intensive training in distinguishing between human and non-human remains and an ability to determine age at death, racial affiliation, sex, stature, skeletal trauma, post-mortem damage, and the decedent's identification through skeletal or dental evidence. Although the primary task of forensic anthropologists is to establish the victim's identity, they are increasingly being called upon to provide expert opinion on the type and size of weapon(s) used and the number of blows sustained by victims of violent crime. In cases involving forensic medicine, however, it is the forensic pathologist who determines the cause or manner of death, not an anthropologist. As a general rule, the forensic anthropologist is consulted after the medical examiner has done a preliminary examination. After the anthropologist completes his or her examination, details of the decedent are turned over to law enforcement officials, who then enter the data into the National Crime Information Center. If a search fails to turn up the name of the victim, the forensic anthropologist is sometimes requested to put together a facial reproduction. This can either be done with the help of a composite artist or a specialist in three-dimensional facial reproduction, who crafts a clay model. Forensic anthropologists today are integral members of most mass disaster teams, in large part because their knowledge of excavation and mapping techniques as invaluable in recovering evidence. A list of board-certified forensic anthropologists can be obtained from the American Academy of Forensic Sciences.