Essay On Forensic Anthropology

“This is my lab and what we do is study bones,” states Kari Bruwelheide in her video entitled “30,000 Skeletons”. Out of all three resources, “Puzzles of the Chesapeake” by Sally Walker, “Forensic Anthropology” by an unknown author, and “30,000 Skeletons” by Smithsonian Education, but presented by Kari Bruwelheide, “30,000 Skeletons” is by far better at explaining the role of an anthropologist. It is unbeatable because it is a video and Kari Bruwelheide has personal experience of being a forensic anthropologist. A forensic anthropologist is a scientist that studies human remains, or in another word, skeletons, to try to find out information.

Your Work: Forensic anthropologists work with professional organizations to identify disaster victims. They analyze skeletal and badly decomposed human remains. They will try to assess the age, sex, ancestry, stature, and unique features of the skeleton. They will frequently work with forensic pathologists, odontologists, and homicide investigators. Their goal is to be able to match the skeleton with a missing person or victim.

Forensic anthropologist work with law enforcement agencies and assist in processing skeletal evidence. They study bones, a field known as osteology, and profile research subjects by gathering information used to determine the individuals ages at death, sex, and physical condition. They are expected to use scientific standards in their work.

Description: Forensic Anthropologists helps to study the skeletal systems of people to determine the sex, ethnicity, and distinct characteristics of the dead skeleton they are studying.

The field of forensic anthropology is relatively young, with roots in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Its popularity continues to grow today, with TV shows like “Bones” and novels like “Coroner at Large.” The work of a forensic anthropologist is important in a historical and medicolegal context. Without the study of bones and death, lots of history would be lost forever, and murders would go unsolved.

After that they “analyze bones to determine the victim's biological profile” as it is said in “What is Forensic Anthropology” by R.U. Steinberg.

Forensic anthropology applies science to criminal investigations. Using forensic science to find out the age, gender, height, body characteristic, and race of the unknown individual. Anthropologists can examine injuries which happened around the time of death to determine how a person died.

Forensic anthropology is a subfield of physical anthropology that aims to assist in the identification of human remains and to help determine what happened to the remains (Ubelaker, 2006). A forensic anthropologist is able to aid law enforcement by narrowing down the list of possible victims. This subfield of anthropology consists of several processes and a vast list of duties that are important in providing positive identification.Even though forensic anthropology dates back many years, major advancements in this field are still being made today.

Forensic Anthropologist work with the law enforcement agencies and assist in processing skeletal evidence. They gather profile research to determine individual's age at death, sex, ethnicity, and physical condition. They also aid in locating and removing human remains, conducting dental analysis, determining time of death, evaluate trauma to bones, and presenting a professional testimony in court.

“Forensic science has become in the early 21st century what the space race was in the 1960s- an accessible and inspiring (Gaensslen) into the world of science” (Gaensslen ix). This may be true but forensic has not always existed forever. Many people began hearing about forensic science during the 1990s when many of crime shows became popular. In actuality forensic science goes as far back as ancient China. Sculptors used fingerprints to identify their artwork from that of others. This may not be what forensics has evolved into but it had to begin somewhere. The first text reference of forensics first showed up in Hsi Duan Yu, which was published in about 700 CE (Hunter 18). It noted that many bodies have various characteristics that make them different. Many of the early forensic advances took place in the 1700 and 1800s. In 1784 the physical matching of evidence began. It was first used in the case of John Toms to link him and a piece of pistol wadding to a murder (Lotter). From then on forensics began to grow exponentially. “A major landmark in forensic science, the discovery that

Literally forensic anthropologists use dental records, racial group, region, surgical appliances and the condition of their teeth to try and figure out who this person is. The “forensic anthropologists them a generic face to help family members, coworkers, friends, or acquaintances recognize the person that they know that may have been lost.”

Forensic anthropology is an important branch of forensic science. Forensic anthropology is the study of human remains. This branch of forensic science helps officials at crime scenes determine the identify, age, sex and cause of death of a victim by skeletal evidence and remains. Forensic anthropology includes applying anthropological fieldwork and and expertise to medicolegal issues. Forensic Osteology is the study of the skeleton. Forensic Archeology is the study of the controlled collection of human remains in a crime investigation. Forensic Taphonomy is the study of changes to the body after death, including decomposition and environmental modification.

The field of forensic anthropology centers on the analysis of human remains; a key component of such an analysis is the knowledge of how much time has passed between the death of an individual and the discovery of the associated remains. This period is termed the postmortem interval and is useful in regards to providing an identification of remains, as awareness of the time of death can be instrumental in determining the specifics of a crime. Determination or estimation of the postmortem interval (PMI) is possible due to certain consistencies in the process of decomposition of organisms as well as both biotic and abiotic factors associated with decaying remains. Over time, new methods have been added to the repertoire of forensic anthropology,

Merriam-Webster defines forensic science as the application of scientific principles and techniques to matters of criminal justice especially as relating to the collection, examination, and analysis of physical evidence. In layman’s terms, forensics is the use of science to help the police gather evidence so they can catch a culprit. This seemingly simple subject took hold of my life almost five years ago and has not loosened its grip since.

1). Forensic Psychology is the application of the theories of psychology to law and the legal system. Issues of violence and its impact on individuals and/or groups delineate the main and central concerns in Forensics within the adult, juvenile, civil, and family domains. Forensic psychologists provide advice to legislators, judges, correctional officers, lawyers, and the police. They are called upon, for example, to serve as an expert witness, diagnose and treat incarcerated and probationed offenders, and screen and evaluate personnel in the law enforcement and judicial systems. Forensics encompasses a wide range of academic orientation. Synonyms for Forensic psychologists include criminal psychologist,