Forensic Anthropology

            In the times of crime scene investigations, victims can be killed and their remains could be found unrecognizable, luckily, forensic scientists can identify the individual and help solve the case. In reference to the show Dexter, Dexter had always identified all of the victims alive or dead and he so happened to be the forensic scientist. In the show, Dexter seems to be skilled in all forensic sciences and in this blog I wanted to talk about forensic anthropology; the science of identifying the deceased. No matter the damage to the body, whether it be decomposed, burned, mutilated or anything to make the body unrecognizable, the forensic anthropologist has techniques to discover the person's identity.

            The services of a forensic anthropologist are needed when highly decomposed or charred human remains are found to the point where one is unrecognizable. Lerner and Wilmoth emphasize forensic anthropologists stating, "forensic anthropologist are requested [...]when difficulty in gathering physical evidence is experienced, or when the identification of the victim or the cause of death is not apparent" (1). Forensic anthropologists study osteology , in which the scientist specializes in the skeleton of a human. With the basic steps of osteology analysis, the scientist goes through the age, stature, ancestry, and sex of the skeletal remains. According to Lerner and Wilmoth, "a series of physical changes and interactions with soil bacteria, insects, and animals takes place when humans are buried, especially in mass graves" (1).  The anthropologist analyzes and remaining hair, bone, and soft tissue to determine gender, race, approximate time of death, and often the cause of death. The methods of analysis usually involve archeological techniques, soil analysis, identification of buried debris, recognition of buried marks of hands or footwear, and animal evidence (Lerner and Wilmoth 1). Forensic anthropologists are often consulted for "cold case" investigations when human remains are unexpectedly found. The anthropological gathering of evidence will take at least a full day, and when the remains are buried, two days. Only after this phase is completed can the remains be removed from the site. This conduction of evidence gathering is a different procedure than usual protocol which is not familiar to most crime scene investigators, thus the use of forensic anthropologists.

            Forensic science is a broad spectrum of crime scene investigation sciences and there are many specialties. While one is not more important than the other, they are all very essential  to criminal justice and finding the truth to the crime scene. The forensic anthropologist not only gives relevant physical evidence, but contextual information that can lead to the end of the case. In the end, forensic scientists are vital to every crime scene investigation, and there is always a specialty for each scenario.

Works Cited

"Crime scene investigation." The Gale Encyclopedia of Science. Ed. K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner. 4th ed. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Science In Context. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.