The Historical Development of Forensic Anthropology

Abstract

Although the term “forensic anthropology” was employed in Germany and Austria in the early 1900s, it appeared in the early 1970s in the North American literature. Roots of modern forensic anthropology can be traced to nineteenth-century European centers of comparative anatomy, but it developed in North America through early casework and research. Progress in the modern era has been stimulated by organizational advances, international developments, applications in humanitarian action and human rights investigations, and experimental research.