FAQ

Forensic anthropology is an applied area in the sub-field of physical (i.e., biological) anthropology; it uses the science, methodology, and technology of physical/biological anthropology and related fields to help address medicolegal issues.  Forensic anthropologists use clues from the skeleton to assist medical examiners and coroners on a variety of cases, typically including those involving skeletal remains, fragmentary or decomposing remains, burned bodies, buried remains, and child abuse, as well as other trauma cases.

Forensic anthropologists use their knowledge of the human skeleton, archaeological methods, and the decomposition process to help law enforcement agencies in the following key ways:  1) to determine if skeletal remains are human or nonhuman, 2) to retrieve surface remains and excavate buried remains using modified archaeological methods, 3) to assist in identifying deceased individuals who cannot be immediately identified through traditional means (such as by visual recognition, fingerprints, or dental evidence), 4) to examine remains for trauma to aid in determining what happened to the deceased individual at the time of death, and 5) to determine how long ago the individual died by examining the condition of the remains.  Forensic anthropologists may work directly with forensic pathologists in a medical examiner system, or they may be consulted on an as-needed basis.

Sometimes a forensic anthropologist is presented with remains for analysis, but sometimes a case starts when a forensic anthropologist is contacted by law enforcement to look for remains that have been scattered on the ground or to search for a body buried in a clandestine grave (or multiple bodies in a mass grave).  Many environmental clues may reflect the location of a clandestine grave, and forensic anthropologists are typically trained to identify them.  Forensic anthropologists use modified archaeological techniques to recover remains and associated evidence from surface scatters and clandestine graves.

Forensic anthropology casework may begin with determining whether or not remains are human or nonhuman (i.e., from other animals).  If the remains are determined to be human, they will be assessed and measured in order to develop a biological profile of the deceased.  This means attempting to estimate the approximate age of the individual from bones and teeth, and—if the remains are those of an adult—the individual’s biological sex (male or female) as well as the person’s height at the time of death.  Anthropologists may also be able to assess the ancestry of the decedent.  To create a biological profile for an unknown skeleton, a forensic anthropologist uses standards developed on populations of individuals of known age, sex, height, and ancestry whose bones have previously been measured and analyzed.  The unknown skeletal remains are compared to those standards to generate a statistical probability of the unidentified person’s most likely age, sex, stature, and ancestry, if possible.  These characteristics are usually intended to aid coroners and medical examiners in identifying unknown remains, which in turn can assist law enforcement with investigating potential crimes or closing missing person cases.  The biological profile—age, sex, stature, ancestry— is often a starting point that assists in narrowing down the pool of possible missing persons for comparison.  Once one or more possible missing persons are identified, more specific forensic testing can be compared between the unknown decedent and similar missing persons to establish an identification.  These tests may include x-rays, dental records, or DNA analyses, and forensic anthropologists are often involved in making these comparisons.  Signs of pre-existing medical and dental conditions can also be useful in identifying unknown persons; these include prior fractures, bony signs of disease, implanted medical devices, unusual skeletal features, and fillings, crowns, bridges, or other modifications to teeth.

Along with establishing a biological profile, a forensic anthropologist examines the skeleton for evidence of the circumstances surrounding death.  Forensic anthropologists look for signs of disease and trauma, including features that characterize a gunshot wound, blunt-force trauma, or sharp-force injury.  A forensic anthropologist is trained to recognize characteristic modification on the skeleton from specific types of weapons.  The timing of damage to the bone (i.e., whether it was antemortem and occurred before death; perimortem and occurred relatively close to the time of death; or postmortem and occurred after death) can be determined by looking for signs of healing and assessing bone fracture patterns.

Casework is not limited to a whole or even a partial skeleton; forensic anthropologists also assist in matters as diverse as badly burned remains, bodies in various states of decomposition, and cases of fragmentation and dismemberment, as well as bones recovered during an autopsy from intact non-decomposed decedents.  Some forensic anthropologists become involved in mass fatality incidents in which numerous lives have been lost.  Forensic anthropologists have also participated in civil matters, such as by comparing the features of a historic painting to a photograph of the subject to determine if they both represent the same person.  Outside of their medicolegal work, many forensic anthropologists have also participated in historic projects such as moving old cemeteries or examining the skeletal remains of historic “celebrities” to establish their authenticity or help determine how they died.  Similar methods are used during analyses of forensic, historic, and prehistoric skeletal remains.

Most forensic anthropologists do not “follow up” on cases to attempt to determine the full story of what happened, as they do on television.  Television makes it appear as though forensic anthropologists are involved in every part of an investigation, but usually their responsibilities are limited to analyzing the remains, writing the report, and perhaps testifying in court about the aspects of the case in which they were involved; the rest of the investigation is left to others.  Contrary to what is seen on television, the role of the forensic anthropologist is not to form opinions about “who did it,” but rather to remain objective and focused on scientific analysis.  During the course of an investigation, forensic anthropologists may scientifically locate and recover a skeleton, study the scientific aspects of that skeleton, write a report on that science, and then may testify in court about their scientific findings.  They are just one part of a larger team of forensic scientists and law enforcement who are all doing their part to resolve a case.

The skull (which is actually made of numerous bones) typically provides the most information, since from it a forensic anthropologist can potentially assess sex (in adults), age, ancestry, and some aspects of a person’s facial appearance.  The adult pelvic bones are probably the second best portions of the skeleton in terms of providing information, as they also give clear sex characteristics and some age indicators.  Even just the adult pubic bone, which is one small part of the pelvis, can give indications of sex, age, and perhaps whether or not a woman had children.

Most bones are readily distinguishable between humans and nonhumans in the hands of a person who is trained in looking at the overall morphology (shape and size) of the bones.  Certain bones of a bear, especially those of the paws, are difficult to distinguish from humans, and many bear bones have initially been mistaken for human by those who are not forensic anthropologists.  Bone fragments may be more difficult to differentiate because many of the morphological (shape- or feature-based) characteristics can be missing.  If in doubt, anthropologists can look at the microscopic structure of the bone or take samples for DNA testing.