Forensic Anthropology Forensic anthropology is the study of bones in relation to a criminal investigation. Some have probably seen it used on television, but this is not an accurate portrayal of what this truly is. Many times, this area of forensic science is hidden from the public eye; people only get to see all of the glamorous parts. What they do not see is all of the hard work and effort that is put in to get the job correctly done. This career is a rare decision for someone to choose, because of the lack of opportunity for employment positions as well as the low income per year; however, it is an extremely fascinating occupation. Forensic anthropology has been known to help many organizations, including museums, and law enforcement agencies. Forensic anthropology is adapted from forensic science and anthropology. Anthropology studies how an entire culture lived its life. It also pertains to the skeletal remains of a person, in order to obtain historical data on the individual …show more content…
themselves. Forensic science is a form of science that investigates, in cooperation with a police department, or other establishments, to help solve some form of a crime that has been committed. It can lift a person’s fingerprint, analyze blood spatter to find where a person was standing when they were shot or hit in the head, and on rare occasions, this discipline can be used to investigate a homicide. A man by the name of “Dr. William M. Bass, founded the Forensic Anthropology Center in 1987” (The University of Tennessee). Dr. Bass combined what forensic science and anthropology are: to create forensic anthropology. There are many things the human body can tell us; the bones can tell more about a person’s life sometimes than him or herself even can.
One scientist was able to tell what a person had done his or her entire life, be it sitting at a desk twenty-four seven or playing professional tennis. The way forensic anthropology is used in an investigation is when a body is found that is beyond recognition, whether it be burned or decomposed. These scientists will clean the bones after a forensic pathologist has looked at the body to see if there are any noticeable differences in the organs or tissues. Once that is done, they will do a facial reconstruction on the skull. Most of the time, this is done to get a positive identification on the body. Then, they will examine the entire skeletal remains, looking for nicks, broken bones, anything that could help identify how the victim was killed. All of these processes take a lot of time to complete, but once they are done, the rewards are worth
it. Forensic anthropology helps many organizations, but none more than the family members of the victims. In many instances, members of this field will get hired at a museum and work directly out of here, instead of going out onto a crime scene. This is more of what an anthropologist does, so if some do not want to work in the field, they can look for a job at a museum instead. This career helps museums, because of the work they do identifying ancient pre-historic corpses that have been discovered. They also help all law enforcement agencies, by assisting them solve the unusual homicides that come their way. These are just a few of the people and organizations that forensic anthropologists help. This area of work is not portrayed correctly on television at all. Someone watching a show about forensic anthropology is not going to get to see all of the nauseating and revolting events that have really occurred. On TV, people never get to see the actual death and how bad the body truly is; all of the deaths are fictional. Television makes these kind of professions seem very glamorous, but there is a lot of hard work that is put into solving a crime. The women are always wearing high heels and dress clothes, and the men suits, but if someone was actually wearing these items, they would be ruined. Someone needs to wear black or grey clothes, and flat no-slip shoes, most likely black. Little on TV is ever true, including representations of forensic anthropology. Some people might think that this is a strange profession because of the decomposing dead bodies, or all of the tedious work one has to do to correctly provide the information needed, but if people love something and enjoy doing it, then they should go after what they love. Forensic anthropology is not the normal career choice, but some choose it because of the opportunities they are able to have, and they get to meet many new people along the way. If someone were to go into forensic anthropology, this person would never do the same task every day; their days at work would always be different and interesting. What more do people need in life than doing something they love and enjoy on a regular basis? Works Cited Fortes de Oliviera, Osvaldo, et al. "Sex Determination From Occipital Condylar Measurements By Baudoin Index In Forensic Purposes." International Journal Of Morphology 31.4 (2013): 1297-1300. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 Nov. 2015. Kimmerle, Erin H. "Forensic Anthropology In Long-Term Investigations: 100 Cold Years." Annals Of Anthropological Practice 38.1 (2014): 7-21. Academic Search Complete. Web. 22 Oct. 2015. The University of Tennessee Department of Anthropology. The University of Tennessee Department of Anthropology, 1987-2015. Tues. 10 Nov. 2015. Verna, Emeline, et al. "Relevance Of Discrete Traits In Forensic Anthropology: From The First Cervical Vertebra To The Pelvic Girdle." Forensic Science International 253.(2015): 134.e1-134.e7. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 Nov. 2015. Weitzel, Misty A. "Introducing Forensic Anthropology To The Criminal Justice Department: Designing An Effective Curriculum For The Virtual Field And Laboratory." Journal Of Criminal Justice Education 25.3 (2014): 342-353. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 Nov. 2015.
“This is my lab and what we do is study bones,” states Kari Bruwelheide in her video entitled “30,000 Skeletons”. Of the three resources that we were provided, “Puzzles of the Chesapeake” by Sally Walker, “Forensic Anthropology” by an unknown author, and “30,000 Skeletons” by Smithsonian Education presented by Kari Bruwelheide, the resource “30,000 Skeletons” is by far the best at explaining the role of an anthropologist. It is unbeatable because it is a video rather than just written words, and Kari Bruwelheide has personal experience in being a forensic anthropologist. A forensic anthropologist is a scientist that studies human remains, or in another word, skeletons, to try to find out information about the past.
Since the airing of the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and the other televised series that followed have led jurors to compare fiction with reality. The shows have changed the view on the real world of forensic science as the series have a world of forensic science of their own. For this paper the televised series titled Bones by forensic anthropologist Kathy Reichs will be used as an example for comparison. In the series Bones Dr. Temperance Brenan arrives at the scene of the crime to examine the skeletal remains found in the scene of the crime equipped with one or more forensic kits. Upon momentarily examining the skeletal remains Dr. Brenan is able to determine the gender, ethnicity, and age. When this type of scenario is compared to nonfictional
In conclusion, a trained forensic anthropologist is an important factor to consider when the trauma on the bone occurred, how it occurred and what type it is. With no longer having the flesh on the body, it can make finding cause of death difficult, which is why the forensic anthropologist is
Forensic anthropology is going to be useful in this profession because I will be able to determine things by analyzing the victim’s bones not just by looking at the soft tissue or what appears on the surface. The tools I will learn with this minor are going to set me apart from other applicants. They will bring a whole new set of skills to the table that maybe someone else cannot offer. Such as analyzing the bugs that are found on the body to help determine time of
In order to understand Forensic Anthropology we must break it down into the components. According to Oxford American Dictionary the term Forensic is significant to the use of scientific methods to investigate a crime. Anthropology is defined by Oxford American Dictionary as the study of societies, cultures, and human origins. The combination of both, Forensic and Anthropology, consists of applying the principles which are introduced by Anthropologists to solving a crime. Forensic Anthropology is currently a small field but is expected to grow in the upcoming years due how it is being portrayed in books, television shows, classes, and many other resources. The usage of this field is becoming crucial because of how gruesome the crimes being committed by criminals are becoming. Although Forensic Anthropology is currently a small field it requires a lot of education, carries plenty of job responsibilities, and continues to aid in the solving of crimes.
results of the forensic anthropology. For instance, if a crime is committed at a certain scene,
Many students decide to become a forensic anthropologist after watching highly glamorized television shows that depict these scientists as intuitive crime solvers. The field of forensic anthropology is heavily involved in the criminal justice system, but biological anthropology is equally important.
The criminal justice system has changed a lot since the good old days of the Wild West when pretty much anything was legal. Criminals were dealt with in any fashion the law enforcement saw fit. The science of catching criminals has evolved since these days. We are better at catching criminals than ever and we owe this advancement to forensic science. The development of forensic science has given us the important techniques of fingerprinting and DNA analysis. We can use these techniques to catch criminals, prove people's innocence, and keep track of inmates after they have been paroled. There are many different ways of solving crimes using forensic evidence. One of these ways is using blood spatter analysis; this is where the distribution and pattern of bloodstains is studied to find the nature of the event that caused the blood spatter. Many things go into the determination of the cause including: the effects of various types of physical forces on blood, the interaction between blood and the surfaces on which it falls, the location of the person shedding the blood, the location and actions of the assailant, and the movement of them both during the incident. Another common type of forensic evidence is trace evidence. This is commonly recovered from any number of items at a crime scene. These items can include carpet fibers, clothing fibers, or hair found in or around the crime scene. Hairs recovered from crime scenes can be used as an important source of DNA. Examination of material recovered from a victim's or suspect's clothing can allow association to be made between the victim and other people, places, or things involved in the investigation. DNA analysis is the most important part of forensic science. DNA evidence can come in many forms at the crime scene. Some of these forms include hair; bodily fluids recovered at the crime scene or on the victim's body, skin under the victim's fingernails, blood, and many others. This DNA can be the basis of someone's guilt or innocence; it has decided many cases in the twentieth century. As the times continue to change and the criminals get smarter we will always need to find new ways to catch them. Forensic science is the most advanced method yet, but is only the beginning. As the field of science grows so will the abilities of the
It’s not everyday that you find some bones in the ground while walking your dog! As a forensic anthropologist who has just found some human remains lying around I would definitely decipher the biological profile, reconstruct the face, and testify in court to identify the unknown person. The job of a forensic anthropologist isn’t always easy, but by using these three steps, it shouldn’t be that tedious and hard.
Forensic Psychology, which is occasionally referred to as Legal Psychology, originally made its debut in the late 1800’s. A Harvard Professor, Professor Munsterberg, introduced the idea of psychology and law with his book, On the Witness Stand in 1908. Since the inception of the idea of psychology and law there have been proponents, as well as though that have spoken against the theories proposed by Munsterberg’s, along with other scientists, theorists, and psychologists that believed that Forensic Psychology had no standing to be linked to topics of law. This literature review will attempt to identify scholarly articles that trace the origins and the movement that led to Forensics Psychology becoming a specialty within the field of psychology. I will also attempt to explain What is Forensic Psychology as well as the part it plays within the legal system.
Forensics Anthropology is the study that goes beyond the human skeleton. A forensics anthropologist can find out. How a person lived, the food that person ate, and the overall make-up of a human. The use of forensics has grown in recent years, it is used to solve crimes and locate missing persons. Snow, (1982) Forensics anthropology is not a new science. The first case forensics anthropology was used on was the Jezebel case, dating back to the nineteenth century. This case involved a person, who was thrown from a window. Snow, (1982) The remains found in this case were the skull, feet, and the palm of the victim’s hands.
Forensic scientists work in labs where they examine, identify, and interpret evidence collected in crime scenes. Crime scene investigators collect evidence and pass it to a forensic scientist who uses the items in numerous ways to help catch criminals. Forensic scientists must also record the evidence and any tests run on it in detail to prove the truth in court. A forensic scientist also has to be able to present his or her physical evidence verbally in court, so a strong communication background is important. The first step taken to become a forensic scientist is to first pass the education required to become one.
According to the American academy of forensic science, the forensic sciences form a vital part if the entire justice and regulatory system. Forensic science is an enticing career having to do with science and criminal justice, a large variety of schooling is needed to start this job Despite the fact that it can be a dangerous environment it can be an exciting profession to pursue. There are many different fields in forensic science that you can study or major in but they all have the same objectives.
“The word ‘forensics’ means “connected with the courtroom”; so forensic science is, therefore, concerned with gathering hard evidence that can be presented in a trial” (Innes 9). Forensic science is a science that is applied specifically to legal matters, whether criminal or civil. “Few areas in the realm of science are as widespread and important as forensic science” (Hunter 12). Forensics is the one science that is most commonly used in everyday life. It is also a branch of science that incorporates other branches of science such as biology, chemistry, and etc. Since it is used almost every day “No one can dispute the importance of the contributions to society made by forensic science; the ability to solve crime is undeniably important” (Hunter 13). Forensic science has given criminal investigation a new edge. “Advances in science have opened the door for more effective evidence discovery, howev...
Forensic psychology is the study between psychology and the justice system. Psychologists who are specialized in this field