Forensic AnthropologyJocelyn Ramirez & Melissa Perez

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Definition Forensic anthropology is the examination of human

skeletal remains for law enforcement agencies to determine the identity of unidentified bones.

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❖ The identification of skeletal, badly decomposed or otherwise unidentified human remains is important for both legal and humanitarian reasons.

❖ To start from the beginning, anthropology is the science which studies humankind, culturally and physically, in all times and places, while forensic anthropology takes that knowledge and applies it in a legal context, hence the ‘forensic’ in the term.

❖ Can be in great use of a possible murder investigation of victim.

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Development ❖ Forensic anthropology rooted in physical anthropology,

as early as 1918, until the present.

❖ In the early years of the twentieth century, most Americans did not recognize physical anthropology as a science. ---This is primarily because ethnologists and archaeologists originally dominated the field of anthropology.

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❖ The field of forensic anthropology is relatively new. ❖ Although there were famous grisly murders of the 19th

century solved through examination of bones and body fragments, it wasn't until the 1930s that the relationship between anthropology and the police was formally acknowledged.

❖ The gangland murders of the 1930s forced the FBI to turn to physical anthropologists.

Earnest A. Hooton (1887-1954) ❖ Was a founder of the Miller’s lineage, which was another

major contributor to the rise of physical anthropology in the United States.

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Investigation; Goals to keep in mind some goals that forensic anthropologists have are:finding out:● the gender● age● how old the bones

are

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Investigation: Napoleon Bonaparte ● According to the official records,

Napoleon Bonaparte died of stomach cancer on May 5th 1821.

● However, many historians claim that forensic evidence shows that he was actually the the victim of arsenic poisoning.

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Importance of Forensic Anthropology ● the importance of forensic anthropology is

that they work hand in hand with criminal investigators, which then help give the investigators more background.

● forensic anthropology is also important because it lets us know when the person has died or how old the body has been rotting.

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Importance ● an importance outside the lab would be in

the court. they are often called to give testimonies about the victim.

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Ancient Remains ❖ First Nations and Native American people have occupied North America

for thousands of years. Over time, these groups moved in and out of their territories and often buried their dead along the way according to the current customs.

❖ It is the Forensic Anthropology team to discover those ancient bodies and determine their cause of death.

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Ancient Remains ❖ To assess ancestry, anthropologists look for skeletal

features that tend to be more common in some populations than others.

❖ They cannot determine skin or eye colour, but they may be able to place an individual into one of three broad geographic categories: European, African, or Asian.

❖ Ancestry often has more to do with a person's physical appearance than their biological heritage.

❖ Ancestry is estimated by measuring, observing and analyzing the bones of an individual's face and skull

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Average Salary when starting in Forensic Anthropology the average Salary is anywhere between $35,000-$50,000.

when you have your Doctorates the person can earn anywhere between $50,000-$100,000.

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What you need? in College you will need to take:● general Chemistry● quantitative/instrumental analysis● organic chemistry ● Physical Chemistry Biology classes as well and 2 physics classes.

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Pictures14

Television Shows

● CSI● Bones● NCIS● Law and order ● Mentalist

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Youtube video & Podcast ❖ http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=c8IHPq9VgWI

❖ https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/talk-forensics-blog-talk-radio/id304701292

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Bibliography ● http://www.sfu.museum/forensics/eng/pg_media-

media_pg/anthropologie-anthropology/

● http://www.indeed.com/salary/q-Forensic-Anthropology-Lecturer-l-Cullowhee,-NC.html

● http://www.theabfa.org

● http://anthropology.si.edu/writteninbone/forensic_anthro.html

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