Introduction to Forensic Anthropology - PowerPoint Presentation

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Introduction to Forensic Anthropology

ANA 413

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Course Outline

Definition of concepts

Use of anatomical techniques for determining differences between appearances of body structures in different sexes, ages and races

Advanced Egyptology - Mummification

Application of anthropology in crime detection – making measurements on corpses and

analysing

tissues in laboratory to determine causes of death

Advanced

Funerology

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Anthropology

Study of various elements of humans, including biology and culture, in order to understand human origin and the evolution of various beliefs and social customs

Study of various aspects of humans within past and present societies

Anthropologist

take a broad approach to understanding the many different aspects of the human experience, which is holism eg Ruth BenedictThe past is considered through archaelogy, to see how human groups lived hundreds or thousands of years ago and what was important to them

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Types

Social anthropology and cultural anthropology

study the norms (elements of cultural life) and values of human societies

Linguistic anthropology studies

how language affects social life

Biological or physical anthropology studies the biological and behavioral development of humans, their related non-human primates and their extinct hominin ancestors. Archaelogy examines peoples and cultures of the past4

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Anthropometry

– measurement of the human individual, for the purposes of understanding human physical variations

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Concept of Forensic Anthropology

Forensic

anthropology is the application of the anatomical science of anthropology and its various subfields, including

forensic archaeology

and forensic taphonomy, in a legal setting. Forensic anthropology is a special sub-field of physical anthropology that involves applying skeletal analysis and techniques in archaelogy to solving criminal cases

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Archaelogy

– study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture

Taphonomy

– study of how organisms decay and become fossilized or preserved in the

archaelogical recordExhumed bodies of victimsof the 1995 SrebrenicaGenocide in a mass grave

found in 2007.

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Functions of a forensic anthropologist

Assist in the identification of deceased individuals whose remains are decomposed, burned, mutilated or unrecognizable, such as plane crash.

Instrumental to the investigation and documentation of genocide and mass graves.

Specialize in analyzing hard tissues such as bones to gather information from the bones and their recovery context to determine who died, how they died and how long ago they died.

They are knowledgeable about excavating buried remains and recording the evidence

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Along with forensic pathologists, forensic dentists, and homicide investigators, forensic anthropologists commonly testify in court as expert witnesses.

Using physical markers present on a skeleton, a forensic anthropologist can potentially determine a victim's age, sex, stature, and ancestry.

Use skeletal abnormalities to potentially determine cause of death, past trauma such as broken bones or medical procedures, as well as diseases such as bone cancer.

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Identifying a dead body…..

Methods used to identify a person from a skeleton relies on the past contributions of various anthropologists and skeletal differences

Analysis of differences within a population are based on physical characteristics

Trained anthropologists identify skeletal clues of ancestry

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Modern Uses

Investigate

remains

and they work with forensic pathologists to identify remains based on their skeletal characteristics.

Identifies individuals from bones when other physical characteristics which could be used to identify a body no longer exist. Provide physical characteristics of the person to input into missing person databases.Assist in the investigation of war crimes and mass fatality investigations such as

terrorist

attacks and

plane

crashes.

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Identify victims of genocide in countries around the world, often long after the actual event such as the Rwandan Genocide and the Srebrenica Genocide.

Organizations such as the Forensic Anthropology Societies continue to provide guidelines for the improvement of forensic anthropology and the development of standards within the discipline.

Flesh markers

.

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History

Anthropology

began in the United States

and struggled to obtain recognition as a legitimate science during the early years of the twentieth century. Frank Uri Boas (1858 -1942)Pioneer of American anthropology

Earnest Hooton

Pioneered

the field of physical

anthropology

First

physical anthropologist to hold a full-time teaching position in the United

States.

His specialties was criminal anthropology.

Skeletal

differences were

measured eventually leading

to the development

of anthropometry

Ernest Hooton

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Thomas Wingate Todd

Responsible for the creation of the first large collection of human skeletons in 1912.

Contributions include various studies regarding suture closures on the skull

Timing of teeth eruption in the mandible

Age estimates based on physical characteristics of the pubic symphysis. Wilton M. KrogmanMade forensic anthropology gained recognition as a legitimate subdiscipline

.

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Assignment

Bertillon method of skeletal measurement

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Methods

Forensic anthropologists

their knowledge of osteology and the various differences that occur within the human skeleton. During the course of an investigation, anthropologists are often tasked with helping to determinate an individual's sex, stature, age, and ancestry.

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Stages of growth and development in bones and teeth provide information

Shape of pelvic bones provides evidence for the sex of the person

Abnormal changes in the shape and size and density of bones can indicate disease or trauma

Bones marked by

perimortem injuries such as unhealed fractures, bullet holes, or cut can reveal cause of death Bones and teeth reflect activities, diet and ways of life

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Techniques

Variety of techniques are used to

analyse

human remains and record their observations

Bones can be photographed and x-rayedCT scanningHigh- powered microscopesDNA analysis may establish identity; mitochondrial DNA in bones and teeth are used to confirm relationships of old remains with deceased or living descendantsIsotopes provide information about the age of bones and diet

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Photos of the skull maybe superimposed on missing people to look for consistencies between the bone and flesh form

Face can be reconstructed based on the underlying bone structure and known standards of facial tissue thicknesses

Skeletal reference series: individuals with known biological information are used to develop standards for determining sex, age and ancestry in unknown remains

Hair testing

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Determination of sex

Distinctive sexual dimorphisms.

Pelvis is extremely useful in the determination of sex, indicators include

pubic arch

and sacrum. - Female pelvis. Wide pubic arch and shorter, pushed back sacrum - Male pelvis. Narrow pubic arch and longer sacrum.Skull contains markers that can be used to determine sex including the temporal line, the eye sockets, the supraorbital

ridge

, the

nuchal

lines

, and the

mastoid process

.

- Male skulls tend to be larger and thicker than female skulls, and to have more pronounced ridges.

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It is difficult to make a sex determination unless the individual was an adult at the time of death. Sexual dimorphisms occur during puberty and are not fully pronounced until after sexual maturation.

DNA analysis and peptide analysis can be used to determine the sex of children

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Determination of Stature

Based

on a series of formulas that have been developed over

time.

Stature is given in centimeters, and computed by measuring the bones of the leg. Three bones that are used are the femur, the

tibia

, and the

fibula

.

Humerus

,

ulna

, and

radius

can

also be used.

Variables

associated with

height provide accurate estimate.

Individual's

approximate

age: There is shrinkage

of the skeleton that naturally occurs as a person ages. After age 30, a person loses approximately one centimeter of their height every decade

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Determination of Age

Age of children, under the age of 21, is performed by examining the

teeth

.

When teeth are not available, children can be aged based on which growth plates are sealed. Tibia plate seals around age 16 or 17 in girls and around 18 or 19 in boys.Clavicle is the last bone to complete growth and the plate is sealed around age 25.With a complete skeleton available, number of bones can be counted. While adults have 206 bones, the bones of a child have more.

New

osteons

are constantly formed by bone marrow even after the bones stop growing in adults. Younger adults have

fewer and larger

osteons

while older adults have

smaller and more

osteon

fragments

.

Arthritis indicators

on the bones. Arthritis will cause noticeable rounding of the bones.

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Determination of Ancestry

Ancestry is grouped into three historical groups,

Caucasoid

,

Mongoloid, and Negroid. These classifications is becoming much harder as the rate of interancestrial marriages increases and markers become less defined.Distances between landmarks on the skull and the size

and

shape of specific bones

can be used to estimate ancestry.

Maxilla

determines an individual's ancestry due to the three basic shapes,

hyperbolic, parabolic, and rounded,

belonging to the three historical ancestries, Negroid, Caucasoid, and Mongoloid respectively.

Zygomatic

arch

and the

nasal opening

are also used to narrow down possible ancestry.

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Subfields

Functions of forensic archaeologists

Employ

their knowledge of proper excavation techniques to ensure that remains are recovered in a controlled and forensically acceptable

manner. - Ensure that evidence present on the bones are intact.Trained specifically in human osteology and recovery of human

remains; they specialize

more broadly in the processes of search and

discovery.

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Look for objects contained in and around the excavation area which can include anything from wedding rings to potentially probative evidence such as cigarette butts or shoe print

Involved in assisting with

crime scene research

,

investigation,

and recovery of evidence and/or skeletal remains.Processing scenes of mass fatality or incidents of terrorism (i.e. homicide, mass graves and war crimes, and other violations of human rights)Teaching and research. 27

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Determine potential grave sites that might have been overlooked.

- Differences in the soil can help locate these sites.

- During the burial of a body, a small mound of soil will form from the filling of the grave.

- Loose soil and increasing nutrients from the decomposing body encourages different kinds of plant growth than surrounding areas.

- Grave sites are looser, darker, more organic soil than areas around it.

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Forensic

Taphonomy

Study

of

postmortem changes to human remains caused by soil, water, and the interaction with plants, insects, and other animals.Examination of remains can build a peri and post-mortem profile of the individual.

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Body Farms

Owned by universities.

Students and faculty study various environmental effects on the decomposition of donated cadavers.

Cadavers are placed in various situations and their rate of decomposition along with any other factors related to the decomposition process are studied.

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Biotaphonomy

Study of how the environment affects the decomposition of the body.

Include factors such as animal scavenging, climate, and the size and age of the individual at the time of death.

It takes into account common mortuary services such as embalming and their effects on decomposition.

Geotaphonomy

Examination of how the decomposition of the body affects the environment. Examinations can include how the soil was disturbed, pH alteration of the surrounding area, and either the acceleration or deceleration of plant growth around the body.31

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Education

Individuals

looking to become forensic anthropologists first obtain a bachelor's degree in anthropology from an accredited university.

Focus on:

- physical anthropology - osteology - sciences such as biology, chemistry, anatomy, and genetics.

Obtain

doctorates in physical

anthropology.

Experience

in dissection usually through

a

gross anatomy class

Usually

employed in academia either at a university or a research facility

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Ethics

High

level of ethical standards due to their work in the legal system.

Failure

to disclose any conflict of interests or fail to report all of their findings, regardless of what they may be, can face disciplinary actions.Impartiality during the course of an investigation as perceived bias during an investigation could hamper efforts in court to bring the responsible parties to justice.

Respect for the dead as

remains they are working with were once a person. If possible, local customs regarding dealing with the dead should be observed and all remains should be treated with respect and dignity.