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Contribution of Forensic Anthropology to Identification Process in Croatia: Examples of Victims Recovered in Wells
The multidisciplinary team assembled by the Croatian government to recover and identify missing individuals included Forensic pathologists, Forensic anthropologists, Forensic odontologists, Forensic radiologists, criminologists, and molecular biologists. Forensic anthropologists contributed to this team effort by: 1) helping in locating and recovering human remains; 2) separating and re-individualizing commingled remains; 3) interpreting skeletal evidence of trauma identifying the presence of trauma, differentiating between antemortem, postmortem, and perimortem trauma, as well as establishing the sequence of perimortem traumas, when possible; and 4) adopting an osteo-biographical approach in order to supply not only basic data on the age-at-death, sex, and stature, but also on other biological characteristics potentially useful in the identification process. To facilitate this, a joint US-Croatian Forensic anthropology project was developed. In this project, Forensic anthropologists from the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts and Forensic specialists from the Department of Forensic Medicine at the School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, together with Forensic anthropologists from the Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, USA and the University of Tennessee in Knoxville developed a Forensic anthropology database. Data on sex, age-at-death, stature, cranial and postcranial metric characteristics, and osteological and dental features were collected, including the evidence on pathology, ante-mortem fractures, disease, and surgical interventions, as well as perimortem trauma and possible cause of death. The purpose of this database was 3-fold: 1) to identify a basic and standard set of measurements, observations, and definitions to ensure that data are comparable; 2) to store the data in a computer so that particular subsets can be quickly accessed, analyzed, and compared; and 3) to provide up-to-date discriminant formulae for determining sex, stature, and othe
Michigan State University
Michigan State University offers a Master of Science degree in Forensic science. It is a 38 semester hour program that is divided into three concentrations: Forensic Chemistry, Forensic Biology, and Forensic Anthropology.
A History of Smithsonian-FBI Collaboration in Forensic Anthropology, Especially in Regard to Facial Imagery, by Ubelaker (Forensic Science Communications, October 2000)
For more than 60 years, physical anthropologists at the Smithsonian Institution have provided continuous consultation in Forensic anthropology to their neighbors in Washington, DC the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This work has involved recovery of evidence at the scene; determination of human or nonhuman status; estimation of sex, age at death, ancestry, living stature, and time since death; evaluation of postmortem change and trauma; and other factors that contribute to identification, including facial reproduction and photographic superimposition. Although the nature and intensity of this consultation have evolved over the decades, its roots extend to the very foundation of American physical anthropology.
Visible Proofs: Forensic Views of the Body: Home Page
Visible Proofs: Forensic Views of the Body: Home Page
Office of Science Education - LifeWorks - Interview - Angi M. Christensen
I began my undergraduate work as an engineering major. Some time during my second year, I took an anthropology class as an elective and immediately fell in love with it. I took another class the following semester to confirm my interest. Shortly thereafter, I changed my major. I discovered I had a particular interest in physical anthropology. Specifically, I found Forensic anthropology fascinating. This field uses principles from physical anthropology to examine human skeletons to estimate the age, sex, ancestry and stature of the individual, as well as, estimating time since death, and analyzing skeletal trauma.
Forensic Services
ICITAP has had a major impact on enhancing the Forensic capabilities of Colombia's law enforcement agencies through a variety of assistance, including the donation of identification systems for DNA, firearms, fingerprints, and document imaging. These secure, wireless networks enable Colombia's scientists to build databases, exchange information, and make comparisons of Forensic evidence. Also in Colombia, ICITAP, in partnership with the Department of Defense, is conducting Forensic anthropology "dig schools" for investigators, prosecutors, and Forensic professionals. This program is increasing the capacity of Forensic laboratories to use DNA evidence to identify victims in mass graves and to recover and process other evidence from mass graves that will assist the Colombians in prosecuting members of paramilitary groups who were responsible for mass murders. As part of this effort, ICITAP also has provided specialized Forensic training to Colombia's human rights teams. In another project, ICITAP is training scientists and prosecutors as they learn how to work in the country's new accusatory system of criminal justice in providing expert witness testimony and presenting demonstrative evidence.
Miami-Dade County - Medical Examiner
Seminars: Bugs, Bones & Botany - Forensic Anthropology
DNA Forensics
DNA Forensics
Application of Forensic Discriminant Functions to a Spanish Cranial Sample, Douglas H. Ubelaker
Jantz, R. L. and Moore-Jansen, P. H. A database for Forensic anthropology: Structure, content and analysis. In: Report of Investigations No. 47 , Department of Anthropology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, 1988.
Careers in Forensic Science
Two specialties represented in the Hamilton County Medical Examiner Office are Forensic pathology and Forensic anthropology (see the “Pathology & Biology” and “Physical Anthropology” sections in the AAFS Career Brochure for more information on each).
NEWS RELEASE
Dr. Finnegan, Manhattan, is a Professor of Anthropology at Kansas State University and a consultant in Forensic Anthropology. He is a Fellow, past Director and past Vice President of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and a Diplomat and past President of the American Board of Forensic Anthropology, Inc. He has published numerous articles on theory, method and application of osteological analysis in population studies and Forensic applications. Dr. Finnegan is a recipient of the William L. Stamey Teaching Award in undergraduate instruction, the John C. Hazelet Award as the outstanding member of the Kansas Division of the International Association for Identification, and the T. Dale Stewart Award in Physical Anthropology by the American Academy of Forensic Sciences.
Miami-Dade County - Medical Examiner
The Medical Examiner Department is staffed by one full-time physical anthropologist who is specially trained and board certified in the specialty of Forensic anthropology. The duties of the Forensic anthropologist include consultation cases that are forwarded by the medical examiners. Most often requests are made in the situation where the remains are unknown or mechanism of death is not easily discerned because of the condition of the remains. The Medical Examiner Department has facilities for on-site anthropological analysis; however should additional analyses be required, then material may be transferred to the C.A. Pound Human Identification Laboratory, a full-service Forensic anthropology facility at the
Forensic Medicine
Forensic Medicine
Visible Proofs: Forensic Views of the Body: Education: Anthropological Views
Visible Proofs: Forensic Views of the Body: Education: Anthropological Views
Forensic Dental Identification and Emerging Technologies
The primary focus of the course is to expose the experienced Forensic scientist, and to introduce the novice, to state of the art techniques for Forensic endeavors with an emphasis on dental identification, including speakers from a diversity of organizations such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U. S. Army, National Museum of Health and Medicine, and various universities across the nation. The laboratory session incorporates digital radiology and photographic capture and computer database with a mock mass disaster identification exercise. Other laboratories include bitemark analysis, skeletal anthropology, and radiographic age assessment.
Forensic Web Sites
American Board of Forensic Anthropology (ABFA)
Forensic Sciences Forensic Links
AMERICAN BOARD OF Forensic ANTHROPOLOGY, INC.
New Jersey State Police - Investigations Branch
Forensic Anthropology Laboratory is responsible for the Forensic anthropological examination and analysis of human skeletal remains found in New Jersey to assist in establishing positive identification.
NCJRS Abstract - National Criminal Justice Reference Service
Today, Forensic anthropologists are involved in a wide range of cases requiring human identification. The evolution that the discipline has gone through in both continents has brought Forensic anthropologists to participate in Forensic investigations composed of a multidisciplinary team and become recognized as an integral part of investigations concerning human identification. The case studies presented illustrate the many challenges that Forensic anthropologists face while assisting on everyday investigations, as well as the challenges presented while in the field and at the mortuary when working in human rights investigations. In addition to covering the work undertaken in a number of European countries, the case studies presented cover a range of issues dealt with by Forensic anthropologists from around the world including: stab wounds; blunt force trauma; gunshot wounds; dismemberment; burning; personal identification, including issues relating to the investigation of ancestry in European investigations; juvenile human remains; the work of Forensic anthropologists in unsolved cases; and work undertaken to eliminate discoveries of human remains from police investigations. The final chapter of the book explores new developments in the field with gait analysis and facial recognition of a living individual based on analysis of CCTV footage. Each chapter contains clear up-to-date references and a full discussion of the techniques applied, which also make this book accessible for the non-specialist reader. The book, however, is primarily designed for students of Forensic anthropology and those engaged in Forensic anthropological work in various areas of the world. The book seeks to introduce and exemplify the role of Forensic anthropologists as a vital investigative tool within crime investigations. Figures and references
NCJRS - National Criminal Justice Reference Service - In the Spotlight
The American Board of Forensic Anthropology seeks to improve the standards for Forensic anthropology and certifies qualified scientists as experts.
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