The use of Forensic Anthropology, the study of human remains, is crucial when investigating criminal cases. Forensic Anthropologists are trained in archaeology, human osteology, and anthropology to analyze the skeletal properties as physical evidence. The establishment of Forensic Anthropology began when Biological Anthropologists applied osteological methods to forensic sciences. “The main focus of a Forensic Anthropologist is to process crime scenes, examine and process remains, develop a biological profile, compile appropriate documentation, and testify in the provincial and federal courts” (Stanojevich 2012:2). Harvard anatomy Professor Thomas Dwight, who was named the “Father of Forensic Anthropology,” discovered that the characteristics of humans, like gender and age, can be determined by analyzing bone structures. Wilton M. Krogman has also made significant contributions to the field of study. He wrote the Guide to the Identification of Human Skeletal Material in 1993, which was published in the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. Today, this subfield of Biological Anthropology is widely used to investigate human deaths.
In the United States, George Dorsey was the first to testify as a Forensic Anthropologist in a trial. He testified in the Luetgert case in Chicago in 1897. Adolph Luetgert, who was a sausage maker, was charged with murder after killing his wife, Louisa. Louisa Luetgert disappeared on May 1, 1897 and the investigation to locate her began a few days later. Investigators searched the area and nearby rivers, but found nothing. They started an investigation in his sausage factory, where they found Louisa Luetgert’s rings, teeth, corset steels, and bone fragments, which Dorsey analyzed. Dorsey found that the bones he analyzed belonged to a human female. Defendants claimed that the bones were pieces of animal bones, which is normal to be found in sausage factories. However, three months later, investigators more bone fragments, which belonged to Louisa. Adolph has dumped her body in caustic potash, which destroyed her flesh and bones. Adolph Luetgert was then convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. This became one of the most important events in the history of Physical Anthropology.
During WWII and the Korean War, the US Army Quartermaster Corps recruited Forensic Anthropologists to help identify the deceased, which started a trend. So, during the 1950s and 1960s, Forensic Anthropologists became more relevant in the United States for death investigations after wars, which replaced coroners, who often did not have medical experience. They are very helpful when approaching unidentified human remains. “As medicolegal specialists, they are more fully aware of the role of other forensic science disciplines in death investigation, and their offices tend to be more generously budgeted and professionally staffed” (Snow 1982:106). Medical examiners started to seek Physical Anthropologists to help with skeletal identification cases, which led to having them take a role in the criminal justice system.
Determining sex is also a big part of Forensic Anthropology, but before Forensic Anthropologists became relevant, morphological techniques were widely used to determine sex. The bones of the pelvis and the skull are commonly used to determine the skeleton’s gender. However, the pelvis and the skull are not always easy to find. The petrous part of the temporal bone is the most common and best preserved part of the skeleton (Iscan 2005:108). Forensic Anthropologists found that the “male lateral angle of the petrous portion is smaller in the female. In the females, the medial angle is smaller than in males” (Iscan 2005:108). By examining the patella, also called the kneecap, Forensic Anthropologists are also able to articulate sex differences using height and width and found that males are larger than females in all features. This field of study has impacted not only the study of human identification, but the study of human variation as well.
In Latin America, Forensic Anthropologists have made significant contributions to solving criminal and civil cases. Law enforcement agencies and coroners hand investigations to anthropologists to identify decomposed and burned human remains (Olivera 2000:16). In Uruguay, before Forensic Anthropologists came into the picture, bodies were analyzed by coroners who were not as qualified and had little training in anthropology. This led to inaccurate identifications, as they were only able to identify the gender of the human remain and the possible cause of death. In response to this dilemma, the Laboratorio de Antropologia Forense was established, which led to an increase in positively identified human remains. 276 individuals were analyzed between 1991 to 1997. They were “examined to estimate age at death, determine sex, geographic location of the recovery site and stage of decomposition” (Olivera 2000:17). They have also attempted to reconstruct faces from the shape of the skulls with the use of electronic superimposition of a photograph on a skull. They also use dental records, but in third world countries, dental records are rarely kept because it costs so much to keep records. There are a lot of variables Forensic Anthropologists must be aware of including law enforcement agencies not knowing which information are relevant to the cases and having no missing people reported to authorities, which makes identifying human remains more difficult. Today, the use of Forensic Anthropology in Latin America has become more advantageous. The percentage of the success in human identification has significantly increased, especially in identifying sex differences. A study on Cuban European tali and calcanea had an accuracy of 96% (Olivera 2000:22). They have also attempted stature estimation, which is one of the most difficult studies to perform because of limited skeletal information. Victims of the Argentinian dictatorial regime were studied, trying to estimate the time it has been since their death. Specialized studies like this require Forensic Anthropologists to also be familiar with the climate and terrain of the areas the skeletons were found in order to accurately analyze the bones.
Forensic Entomology is also extremely helpful in criminal investigations and although it is not exactly in the field of anthropology, it still relates to studying biological species. Furthermore, it is widely used in criminal cases like, murder, physical abuse, rape, and suicide. In death investigations, anthropod movements are crucial when determining the deceased’s cause of death and suspects of the crime. Insects are used in death investigations because “…insects are usually the first to find a decomposing corpse (Catts et al 1992:255). By analyzing anthropod activities, Forensic Entomologists can determine the time since death. Blow flies usually find their way to corpses early in the decomposition process, so blow flies are the best to study because they provide the most accurate information about the time of death of the corpse. Studying insects also could potentially lead to substances used during crimes.
“Introna et al showed that opiates could be detected by analyzing maggots…Kintz et al demonstrated that triazolam, oxazepam, alimemazine, and chloripriamine in addition to phenobarbital could be detected in maggots that had developed in a corpse (Catts et al 1992:263).
Although Forensic Entomology is not directly related to Forensic Anthropology, the role of entomologists is crucial to criminal investigations as well. They are especially needed when the remains reach the morgue and there is not much to work with to determine the postmortem interval (PMI).
Forensic Anthropology does not just require one to be well educated in osteology and archaeology. An understanding in the study of geology, anatomy, DNA, biology of insects, and more. It is very useful in medical sciences, as well as in criminal investigations. As Cattaneo described it,
“…just like the pathologist deals with the human cadaver from the scene of crime to establishing time and cause of death, in the same manner the anthropologist, when nothing remains of a victim but bones, must deal with the search and proper retrieval of the skeleton and with issues may lead to establish cause and manner of death” (Cattaneo 2007:185).
Forensic Anthropologists are not just in charge of determination of sex, age, race, or stature of body remains. They are also in charge of identifying the deceased and identifying their cause of death. Sometimes, they are faced with whether or not the bones they are identifying are of a human or of an animal. In this case, they also have to be knowledgeable about analyzing DNA and proteins in bones. They have been very useful in the studies of war crime victims and in mass disasters, like the 9/11 bomb attacks (Cattaneo 2007:186). They are educated in analyzing skeletonized, charred, or buried bodies. Therefore, they know all human bones and are able to identify them. Buried remains are archeologically and stratigraphically preserved for Forensic Anthropologists to identify. However, Forensic Anthropologists have a hard task and face a lot difficult problems. Young skeletal remains have small bones, which could easily be mistaken to be something else. Charred bodies are also harder to identify and body parts that are scattered in a crime scene with other debri could cause a delay in the investigation.