Forensic Anthropology

Introduction

    Department of Forensic Anthropology examines the information gathered from the bones and their recovery context to establish who died, how they died, and when they died.

History of forensic anthropology

    The field of forensic anthropology is relatively new. Despite the fact that significant horrible murders of the 19th century were solved by the analysis of bones and body fragments, the relationship between anthropology and the police wasn't fully acknowledged until the 1930s. The FBI was forced to consult physical anthropologists as a result of the 1930s gangland killings.

    Earnest Hooton established the discipline of physical anthropology and was the country's first physical anthropologist to work as a full-time professor. Along with the organization's founder Ale Hrdlika, he served on the American Association of Physical Anthropologists' founding committee.

    It was primarily through the efforts of Thomas Wingate Todd, another well-known early anthropologist, that the first sizable collection of human skeletons was assembled in 1912.Todd also created an age estimation system based on the pubic symphysis's characteristics.

Examination done by department of forensic anthropology :

• Determination of sex
• Determination of age
• Determination of stature
• Determination of ancestor

 Determination of sex

    The pelvis bone can be a highly useful tool in determining gender when properly analyzed, as it can accurately determine sex. Since the pelvis is not always found, forensic anthropologists need to be aware of other skeletal regions that are gender specific. For example, compared to female skulls, male skulls usually have more pronounced ridges and are larger, thicker, and more masculine.

 

Determination of age

    A thorough understanding of the types, timing, and sequencing of skeletal changes throughout life, as well as the connection between these processes and chronological metrics, are necessary for determining age from the skeleton. Therefore, estimating skeletal age entails comparing chronological age—the total amount of time an individual has been alive—with biological age, also known as physiological age.

    It is significant to highlight that because skeletal aging varies throughout individuals, chronological age and biological age are not perfectly associated. This disparity results from the fact that chronological age is determined by time, whereas biological age is influenced by a variety of factors including heredity, diet, environment, and degree of activity. The trajectory effect refers to the growing disparity between chronological age and biological age as people mature. The skull provides a great degree of precision for age determination when using sutures.

Determination of stature

    One of two methods is typically used to determine stature from the skeleton:

    1) Measuring each of the individual bones that make up the stature, adding up the                 measurements, and adjusting for any soft tissue that is absent; or

    2) Using a regression formula using the measurement of a whole bone.

    Using non-limb bones, partial limb bones, and other statistical techniques are some more techniques. It is necessary to take the person's population, sex, and temporal cohort into account while choosing the appropriate approach. Furthermore, the existence and state of the skeletal remains influence the approach selected. There are other statistical methods (like maximum likelihood estimation) for estimating stature. Understanding the statistical underpinnings of these techniques helps us to understand the benefits and drawbacks of the various techniques. Long bones are generally favored for accurate stature determination.

Determination of ancestor

Ancestry interpretations, in conjunction with other biological profile elements, can aid in focusing the search for missing individuals and ultimately lead to a positive identification. The association between a person's social race, place of origin, and skeletal morphology is the basis for ancestry estimation techniques.

Despite significant amounts of within-region variation used to determine ancestry, a number of molecular analyses utilizing combinations of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), short tandem repeats (STRs), variable number of tandem repeats (VNTRs), or even certain insertions/deletions (INDELS) show strong molecular patterning in global samples, allowing an accurate classification of groups.

 

Reference :

1. Stewart, T. D. (1979). "In the Uses of Anthropology". Forensic Anthropology. Special Publication (11): 169–183.
2. Spencer, Frank (1981). "The Rise of Academic Physical Anthropology in the United States (1880-1980)". American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 
3. https://fac.utk.edu/what-is-forensic-anthropology-2/