CHAPTER IX

FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY
What is Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of various aspects of humans within societies of the
past and present
Is often divided into three (3) areas:
Cultural Anthropology -study the norms and values of societies
Physical Anthropology-studies the biological development of humans
Archaeology-which studies past human cultures through investigation of physical
evidence
What is Forensic Anthropology
Forensic Anthropology is a special sub-field of physical anthropology is the
application of the science of physical anthropology to the legal process.
Forensic anthropologists apply standard scientific techniques developed in
physical anthropology to identify human remains, and to assist in the detection of
crime.
Forensic anthropologist are also called Bone Detectives. They help police
officers in solving complex cases involving unidentified human remains.

Although the primary task of the anthropologist is to establish the identity of a dead
person, they are now also able to provide expert opinion on the type and size of
weapon/s used and the number of blows sustained by the victims of violent crimes.
Generally, a forensic anthropologist can tell a lot about a person from their skeletal
remains such as the following:

The sex of the person. This is determined by studying the pelvis, base of
the skull, the forehead, and the jaw.

Female pelvis. Note wide pubic arch and shorter, pushed back sacrum

Male pelvis. Note narrow pubic arch and longer sacrum.

The approximate age of the person. This is done by examining the joints,
bones and teeth. This depends on whether or not the individual was an
adult or a child. The determination of the age of children, under the age of
21, is usually performed by examining the teeth. In addition, if a complete
skeleton is available anthropologists can count the number of bones.
While adults have 206 bones, the bones of a child have not yet fused
resulting in a much higher number.

The height of the person. It is based on the length of the leg and arm
bones.
The persons weight. This can be seen from the wear on the bones at
certain points.
The race of the person. This can be identified by examining the width and
height of the nose as well as facial or head hair if found with the skeleton.
The persons occupation.
Whether the person was left or right-handed.
If the person ever injured or fractured the bone during his lifetime. Past
fractures will be evident by the presence of bone remodeling. The
examination of any fractures on the bones can potentially help determine

cause of death as well by determining if a fracture occurred ante-mortem

(before death), peri-mortem (at the time of death), or post-mortem (after
death). Ante-mortem fractures will show signs of healing while peri- and
post-mortem fractures will not.
If the person died violently.
Approximate when the person died.

Forensic Anthropology is necessary and indispensable especially in certain scenarios,

like the following:

Scenes of crime, particularly in the case of human remains, especially

charred bodies and buried skeletons, where in order to recover and
appropriately register such remains, experience in forensic archaeology, a
sub discipline of forensic anthropology, is necessary
Diagnosis of species of origin of osseous or charred remains
Diagnosis of the post-mortem interval in cases of skeletal remains, in
particular buried remains
Constructing a biological profile: diagnosis of sex, age, race, stature,
skeletal pathologies, dental status and facial reconstruction
Personal identification by anthropological methods: comparison of bone
morphology, facial features, etc. when DNA or odontology are not
applicable
The study of bone trauma (blunt injury, sharp force injury, gunshot
wounds, saw marks in cases of dismemberment, etc.)
Age determination and identification of living individuals
Recovery and identification of victims of mass disasters and war crimes.