Facial reconstruction

Do you know what forensic scientists would perform when they attempt to solve the identity of the human remains, which are decomposed, or skeletonized? Forensic scientists apply many different forensic methods, for example, facial reconstruction, in order to determine the identification of the unearthed skeleton (Wagner, 1997). Facial reconstruction is “a forensic technique that attempts to recreate an individual’s face from a skull for the purpose of identification” (Hwang et al., 2012, p.443). It can be divided into three main categories, for instance, two-dimensional, three-dimensional, and superimposition. Each category of reconstruction can produce an approximate face, which is similar to the original individual from the human remains; however, these categories have their own strengths and weaknesses (Vanezis et al, 1989). In this paper, the foundation of facial reconstruction will be discussed in order to examine the accuracy and usefulness of the facial reconstruction that conducted in the documentary “Hunt for the Mad Trapper”.
Two-dimensional facial reconstruction can be conducted either through “artistic or photofit” technique (Bell, 2013, Lecture 5). Through artistic, the forensic artists usually have a photograph of the skull on one side and make a sketch based on the class characteristics of the individual, for example, age, sex, and race (Quatrehomme et al., 2005). They usually mark some points on the paper indicates the average thickness of soft tissue at that spot. It is similar as drawing a portrait; however, some details may be not accurately drawn, such as the facial features. Since the artists do not have information on the appearance of the facial feature, they may just imagine a human being and give it eyes, ears, mouth and nose. However, this humanization may lead to a false identification or difficult in recognizing the original person, for example, adding a different hairstyle. Also, the face shape may not stand out strongly from the skull