Forensic Anthropology: Using Bones to Solve Murders Elizabeth Martin May 8, 2014 Ms. Yahle 4th period Forensic Anthropology: Using Bones to Solve Murders When someone says forensic anthropology, many minds go directly to beautiful woman working alongside good-looking men while they work to solve a murder in a day’s time, thanks to the media craze with homicide. The recently popular television show Bones, put the field of anthropology in the spotlight. Though the show gives fairly accurate information, many viewers, myself included, have developed a great curiosity for how the work is done. In this paper, I will share with you the answers to many of the questions I have asked myself in my many hours of watching this popular show, including: the process of identifying race, age and sex of a victim, determining whether an injury was antemortem, perimortem or postmortem, and how one is able to interpret the injuries in the case of the death. When a suspicious body appears in the morgue, the forensics team goes to work. The body, if still covered in tissue goes to the forensic pathologist who will study the tissue extensively. If a conclusion is unable to be reached through this process, the pathologist will remove the tissue from the bone and send the skeleton to the forensic anthropologist. In other cases, the victim is found with no to little tissue on the bone, making it nearly impossible for a layman to discover any identifying characteristics about the person. The forensic anthropologist’s first job is to determine the sex, age and race of the victim (Sauer, 1998). To do so, the anthropologist examines the overall sturdiness of the bones, as males tend to have larger bones and joint surface... ... middle of paper ... ...in the investigation process and bring closure to families and justice to victims. Reference List . Lovell, N. C. (1997). Trauma analysis in paleopathology. American journal of physical anthropology, 104(s 25), 139-170. Sauer, N. J. (1998). The timing of injuries and manner of death: distinguishing among antemortem, perimortem and postmortem trauma. Forensic Osteology, 2nd edition Springfield, Illinois: Charles C Thomas, 321-332. Unknown. (n.d.). Young or Old?. Written in Bone-. Retrieved May 13, 2014, from http://anthropology.si.edu/writteninbone/young_old.html Unknown. (n.d.). Ancestry. Written in Bone-. Retrieved May 13, 2014, from http://anthropology.si.edu/writteninbone/ancestry.html Unknown. (n.d.). Male or Female?. Written in Bone-. Retrieved May 13, 2014, from http://anthropology.si.edu/writteninbone/male_female.html
The show portrays that forensic anthropologists are responsible for almost every aspect of the death investigation, which does not correctly depict the role of forensic anthropologists (Wood,2017a). The method of which components of the biological profile, like sex of the remains, is also incorrectly portrayed as Dr. Brennan estimated the sex using a trait that does not accurately indicate sexual dimorphism (Wood, 2017c). Lastly, the complexity of personal identification, which is one of the most important aspects of forensic anthropology casework (Krishan et al, 2016), is not portrayed correctly as Dr. Brennan and her team based the identification of the remains on one trait that has questionable reliability (Charles & Levisetti, 2011). All in all, ‘The feet on the beach’ episode of ‘Bones’ does not accurately portray the forensic anthropology as it is romanticized for entertainment and overly simplified for a lay person to
Forensics Anthropology can be used within a court of law. The science is a way to discover many different aspects of human’s remains and life. For example Hurricane Katrina claimed the lives of many persons in Louisiana. Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf coast. Forensics Anthropolgist where sent to the disaster to identify the remains of victims. Many of the victims where the elderly. Often times many factors affect a disaster. The victims of Hurricane Katrina did not receive proper warning of the dangers of the hurricane. The hurricane was a disaster and required many teams of forensics investigators to uncover and identify persons.
Carmichael, L. E. (2015). Forensic science: in pursuit of justice. Minneapolis, MN: Abdo Publishing, an imprint of Abdo Publishing.
Forensic anthropology is the examination of human remains by agencies working for the law enforcement. It involves determination of identity as well as cause and time of death. Forensic anthropology applies the same methods used by physical anthropologists but applies to recent cases of human remains. The work of the forensic anthropologist is to help assist law enforcement agencies in establishing a good profile of unidentified remains of a human body. The developed profile includes details on sex, age, race, time since death as well as involves evaluation of trauma that resulted in the fatality. It is not only identification of the remains but also involves testifying his findings in the court on the identity and remains of the body.
Compare and evaluate the age estimation methods described by i) Mann, Symes and Bass (1987) in ‘Maxillary suture obliteration: aging the human skeleton based on intact or fragmentary maxilla’, Journal of Forensic Sciences, 32(1):148-157 and ii) Meindl and Lovejoy (1985) in ‘Ectocranial suture closure: a Revised Method for the Determination of Skeletal Age at Death Based on the Lateral-Anterior sutures’ American Journal of Physical Anthropology (68):57-66
In late November of 1987 the skull of an unknown victim was found on the grounds of a Boy Scout camp in Farmington, Missouri, it wouldn't be for another four months that the police investigation actually began. (Jackson 4). In a six-day process the investigators only found about forty bones, three strands of hair, a metal button with the words texwood printed onto it, remnants of a plastic shopping bag, and a small bit of tattered blue jeans. The farthest bone from the skull was found about a hundred meters away from the original skull. Forensic anthropologists used the skull and lower jaw to make a face. Using bone features like strong cheekbones and the bridge of the bone they figured out that the body was of a twenty-some year old mongoloid woman that was around 120 pounds and had at least two children. Putting clay onto the skull they created an image of the girl using a technique called facial reconstruction. They even figured out such things as tissue depth and wigs. Using the newly created bust-cast the police were able to get a close idea to what the girl looked like and released a missing person's report. In only three short days a woman recognized the girl and notified the police. The body was then identified as 33 year old Bun Chee Nyhuis whom they had not seen in five years. From the identification of the skull the police went to her ex-husband and soon
The book gives a general overview of the field of forensic science. The sections of the book include “The Scene of the Crime; Working the Scene--The Evidence; Working the Scene of the Body Human; Working the Scene--Different Stages; and Working the Scene--Different Skills (Genge vii-viii). Included are instructions on what professionals should do upon arriving at a crime scene, what items to bring with them, how to protect the crime scene, and how to protect the evidence from contamination. In addition to writing about the subject of forensic science, the author also included several appendixes and suggested readings to help the reader learn even more information about the subject. In addition, the author included a list of colleges that offer programs in the field of forensic science.
The authors discuss whether they believe that cross-sectional imaging will completely replace the conventional post-mortem method or just become a supplement to it. This message is important to the readers of the article because it could put victims families at ease knowing that the procedure being done is only minimally invasive. However, it could also mean that forensic pathologists may not be as high in demand if cross-sectional imaging does eventually replace the conventional post-mortem method. Cost could also be another huge factor, and disadvantage, of cross-sectional imaging. Although using cross-sectional imaging within the field of forensic medicine could help many victims, it is a very expensive option when compared to conventional
Forensics Anthropology is the study that goes beyond the human skeleton. A forensics anthropologist can find out. How a person lived, the food that person ate, and the overall make-up of a human. The use of forensics has grown in recent years, it is used to solve crimes and locate missing persons. Snow, (1982) Forensics anthropology is not a new science. The first case forensics anthropology was used on was the Jezebel case, dating back to the nineteenth century. This case involved a person, who was thrown from a window. Snow, (1982) The remains found in this case were the skull, feet, and the palm of the victim’s hands.
An autopsy is the internal examination of the body. It is a procedure that consists of a thorough examination of the human body by dissecting to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present. It is usually performed by a medical examiner or coroner. An autopsy is always required in homicide cases. The head or the chief medical examiner has the authority to investigate and certify any death. The medical examiner is the one to take charge of the body upon notification of death. The medical examiner should respond to the scene of the homicide to conduct an investigation into the circumstances of death. In order for them to do their job properly, he or she must attain as much information as possible from the homicide investigator at the scene. Also only the first officer/crime scene investigator should be in attendance at the autopsy that way they will be able to identify the body at the chain of custody. In this paper I will be talking about how the autopsy is done, the relationship between the medical examiner
Forensic Anthropology is a type of physical Anthropology , which is classified as the study of human remains. This career field is most commonly used in the crime department. The study of anthropology itself requires an excessive amount of time. It requires the basic understanding of all things “science” as in the basic scientist knowledge. What makes this field more challenging than a normal scientist if job if the human remains section. The human body itself has more than 200 bones . It is required to have an exquisite knowledge of every single bone . The person needs to be able to determine when the body passed , as in the exact day and how many hours based on geographical location, discoloration , texture, etc. There are colleges and universities like the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
If dead bodies give you the heebie jeebies then this paper isn't for you to read. Ever wonder how they find out how a person died? It's called an autopsy. An autopsy is a highly specialized and time consuming surgical procedure to determine the cause of death in a person. They use autopsies to determine the death of your local shoe store owner all the way to highly famous people such as Michael Jackson. The doctor that does this procedure is known as a pathologist. So if you want to know how an autopsy is done and all the steps that are taken to perform one, then read this paper and you'll be an expert.
Carson, Henry J.. (2010). Patterns of Ecchymoses Caused by Manner of Death and Collateral Injuries Sustained in Bruising Incidents: Decedent Injuries, Profiles, Comparisons, and Clinicopathologic Significance. Journal of Forensic Sciences. 55 (6),
The field of forensic anthropology is a sub-field of physical anthropology, which is the study of the evolutionary changes of human anatomy and philosophy. The only difference between the two; physical and forensic anthropology, is that forensic anthropology uses the processes of physical anthropology to help solve criminal cases. After the gangland murders of the 1930’s was the first time the FBI used assistance from physical anthropologists. The field of anthropology was originally dominated by ethnologists and archeologists (Golda 1), eventually physical anthropology became more well-known and branched open to create a new, important profession: forensic anthropology. Trained forensic anthropologists can identify gender, ethnicity, age, illness, pregnancies, and even possibly careers; using techniques that archeologists tend to prefer (“Forensic
The past few decades, Forensic Science has been the “new” vocation that everyone is intrigued about, whether they have seen it on CSI shows, online, or on television it’s the topic of our society. It is easily portrayed that all crimes are solved and analyzed within twenty-four hours. In reality, forensic science crimes could take anywhere from a week to several months before results are even reached. In the past few decades’ forensic science has evolved tremendously. Technologies, instrumentations, training and protocols are not the same they continue to change. Scientific research, study are also becoming highly revolved around concepts and improvement in daily performance. Forensic can be said to be the new trend, due to being heavily