Forensic Anthropology

Introduction

2025-01-02T14:45:39-05:00

This article examines the origins and history of forensic anthropology. It pays particularly close attention to trends and developments in the discipline during the approximately 50-year period from the founding of the Anthropology Section of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) in 1972 to the present. It highlights how narratives of the founding and expansion of North American forensic anthropology should be extended to include more notable foreign anatomists and anthropologists as well as theorists and practitioners of color. It explores how relationships between academic institutions and museums, such as the Smithsonian, led to partnerships with law enforcement agencies and more widespread professionalization, which continues to this day. Concerns surrounding professionalization contributed to the founding of the AAFS Anthropology Section and the American Board of Forensic Anthropology. This article considers the Anthropology Section’s founding and purpose and how the section has changed over time. It also discusses the expansion of educational programs and training, taphonomic research facilities, anthropological work in medical examiner’s and coroner’s offices, and military, mass fatality, humanitarian, and human rights work in forensic anthropology. The article concludes by reflecting on the impact of the Daubert ruling and whether it has appreciably affected and altered forensic anthropology in the United States.

The Origins of Forensic Anthropology in the United States

2024-01-30T17:47:03-05:00

Traditional histories of forensic anthropology focus on key figures, events, and/or publications within a larger narrative of disciplinary formation and expansion. These histories typically highlight individuals such as Thomas Dwight or institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History. This project represents an interdisciplinary collaboration with the goal of shedding new light onto the origins of forensic anthropology in the United States. By pulling from a number of published scholarly sources, as well as some unpublished correspondence, this project expands upon the more established historical events concerning the history of forensic anthropology. Here we argue that the origins of contemporary forensic anthropology not only trace back to the work of Wilton Krogman but that Krogman’s forensic anthropology must be understood through the life and work of his mentor, T. Wingate Todd, as well as the Hamann-Todd Collection, early efforts toward personal identification of human skeletal remains, and a complex amalgamation of US and UK influences that Krogman was exposed to through Todd’s mentorship efforts.

Pioneers of Color

2023-11-28T17:47:29-05:00

Popular renditions on the history of forensic anthropology have traced the discipline’s roots back to early European anatomy and nineteenth to twentieth-century American research and applications to the legal system, often highlighting the works of several recurring figures. These forebearers are overwhelmingly composed of white men to the exclusion of, as we argue here, pioneers of color. As a counter to prevailing Eurocentric narratives, we present the biographies of diverse contemporaries who were equally foundational to the field, including Black Americans, immigrants, and luminaries outside of the Western world. Common themes among their experiences involved discrimination, a lack of opportunities and recognition, and a biocultural and humanistic praxis that demonstrate modern discourses within the forensic anthropology community are not novel. Ultimately, this work shows that the historical foundations of forensic anthropology, in both the United States and globally, include a far more diverse cast of pioneers than what the prevailing literature suggests and should serve as a springboard from which our discipline can grow, both in its past and in its future.

Forensic Anthropology in the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS)

2024-07-23T10:36:27-04:00

This article traces demographic, membership, matriculation, and mentorship trends in forensic anthropology from the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) Anthropology Section’s founding in 1972 through the present. The article relies on two
datasets: a larger dataset comprised of AAFS Anthropology Section membership data and a smaller dataset (Dataset II) constructed from survey data volunteered by practicing forensic anthropologists and forensic anthropology students at the master’s level and above. Both datasets indicate that while the proportion of male forensic anthropologists has remained constant over time, the number of forensic anthropologists who use female pronouns has vastly increased since the 1990s. However, though there are far more women currently in the field and more female forensic anthropologists are hired in academia, mentorship data suggest that women chair fewer master’s committees than would be expected, and they still have not reached gender parity at the PhD level. The data also suggest that AAFS student membership has driven the growth of the section since its introduction in the 1990s. However, student nonrenewal has increased over the past few years, likely in part due to COVID-19, financial hardship, and the limited number of places in forensic anthropology-focused master’s and PhD programs. Regarding the matriculation and mentorship of these students, results indicate that it is common for forensic anthropology students to receive their master’s and PhD at disparate institutions, that 30% of forensic anthropologists have mentors in other anthropology specializations, and that approximately 20% have mentors outside of academia.

From a Small Plot in Knoxville to a Worldwide Footprint

2025-01-02T15:23:21-05:00

The first outdoor human decomposition research facility was established by Dr. William Bass in 1980 at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Initial research at the Anthropology Research Facility (ARF) examined some of the large-scale environmental factors that contribute to decomposition and time since death estimates. As taphonomic research grew into a holistic and interdisciplinary field, the importance of macro-and microenvironmental factors became clear, and additional facilities opened in different areas of the globe. Research conducted at outdoor decomposition facilities now investigates complex relationships between the decomposing body and its environment in diverse landscapes across the world. These facilities play an important role in forensic science by providing real-world laboratory environments, research material, opportunities for research, and documented modern skeletal collections. In addition, they provide opportunities for training both professionals and students in many fields that require human remains, including human remains recovery, death investigation, and cadaver dog training. In the United States today, the resulting ethically donated human skeletal collections have increasing importance in understanding the changes in modern human bodies. This article examines the growth and function of what have been colloquially referred to as “body farms” over the past four decades.

Daubert and the Effect on Biological Profile Research

2023-11-30T17:43:12-05:00

As a core component of casework, methods for estimating the biological profile must meet current legal standards to be
admissible as part of a forensic anthropologist’s expert witness testimony. Since the 1993 US Supreme Court Daubert decision, forensic anthropologists have voiced concern that methods relying on subjective or qualitative data might now be at risk of judicial exclusion. This research used a bibliometric approach to assess whether current forensic anthropology research has shifted toward the use of more objective and/or quantitative data. Forensic anthropology articles published in the Journal of Forensic Sciences between 1972 and 2020 were reviewed (n = 1,142), with data collected on each article’s topic, use of different data types, and inclusion of observer error studies. A subset of articles focusing on methods for estimating the four main parameters of the biological profile (age, sex, ancestry/population affinity, stature) was analyzed using chi-square tests for trend in proportions. Age and sex estimation articles showed a significant shift toward more quantitative data (p < 0.001), although no biological profile subtopic showed a significant shift toward more objective data. While this may seem to be a surprising result, a deeper review of current legal standards and standards of practice suggests that Daubert does not require significant changes to how forensic anthropologists approach research design and method development. So long as the principles of good science are followed, the continued reliance on qualitative data should not be a concern from the standpoint of evidentiary admissibility.

The Evolving Role of Forensic Anthropologists in Medical Examiner Offices

2023-12-18T09:48:39-05:00

The discipline of forensic anthropology has evolved dramatically during its relatively short history, as has the role of forensic anthropologists, both of which are well documented in various publications (e.g., Christensen et al. 2019; Dirkmaat & Cabo 2012; Işcan 1988; Ubelaker 2018). The presence and role of forensic anthropologists specifically working in medical examiner or coroner (ME/C) offices in the United States have also been emphasized in recent literature and presentations (e.g., Austin & Fulginiti 2008; Crowder et al. 2016; Derrick & Figura 2016; Fleischman et al. 2013; Rainwater et al. 2012; Sledzik et al. 2007; Waxenbaum & Grauer 2022). The goal of this article is to provide an update to this aforementioned literature as we reflect on 50 years as a discipline. This article will discuss (1) the evolution and expansion of the roles and responsibilities of forensic anthropologists in ME/C contexts, (2) the importance of laboratory accreditation and professional certification, and (3) the disciplinary advances and progress that will benefit current professionals and the next generation of forensic anthropologists.