Forensic Anthropology

In 1977 the American Board of Forensic Anthropology was established, and in the year 2007 there were over 70 certified diplomates. Forensic anthropology has evolved into a legitimate discipline and has become a part of American popular culture as evidenced by the proliferation of novels and television programs featuring forensic anthropologists.

The primary definition and focus of forensic anthropology involves the discovery, recovery, examination, and analysis of human skeletal remains in a legal investigation or in a humanitarian situation as performed by physical anthropologists trained in anatomy, osteology, pathology, and odontology. The origins of forensic anthropology can be traced to the work of medical doctors and human anatomists who, upon looking at a cadaver, tried to determine the sex, age, stature, ancestry, and in some cases cause of death. History is filled with the names of anatomists and physicians who stood ready to question the cause and manner of death and identity of an individual. Even Paul Revere identified a set of dentures found in an exhumation, made of hippopotamus teeth and silver wire that he himself had made for the deceased Dr. Joseph Warren who was killed at the battle of Bunker Hill and buried in an unmarked grave by the British. This identification enabled Dr. Warren to be reburied as a hero.

The earliest progenitors of modern forensic anthropologists were individuals who practiced chemistry, anatomy, and medicine who also were interested in archaeology. Offering to assist in the study of skeletons of prehistoric Native Americans, one such individual, Joseph Jones, investigated the prehistoric Native American remains from stone box graves in Tennessee. This early examination of skeletal remains included the measurement of crania and comparison of these measures to cranial measurements provided by Samuel George Morton's earlier efforts. More importantly, Jones noted cultural modifications of the skeleton and described the pathology present on the bones, even making thin sections of bone to analyze bone microstructure. During the 1920s anatomist T. Wingate Todd of Western Reserve University would further advance the development of forensic anthropology by continuing the work of Carl August Hamann in assembling a collection of human skeletons from modern cadavers; this collection now numbers well over 3,000. Each skeleton was examined with sex, age, stature, and ethnicity noted. Data on the individual's birthplace, occupation, and probable cause of death also were recorded, and photos of the cadaver taken prior to dissection were included in each skeleton's file. This collection was to prove useful in developing a standard for looking at the changes on the surface of the pubic symphysis of the pelvis and the degree of suture closure on the cranium to determine age at death.

Much of the early development of forensic anthropology started in the 1930s and 1940s, with continued analysis of Native American skeletons by physical anthropologists associated with museums and those associated with Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal programs. Physical anthropologists practiced forensic techniques on Native American human skeletal collections, but rarely were these individuals asked to help in a forensic investigation including skeletal remains. Charles E. Snow, however, attempted to replicate prehistoric Native American cranial deformation using the head of a modern cadaver.

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