Forensic Anthropology Essay

Forensic anthropology is the application of skeletal analysis to the legal process. Forensic anthropologists gather evidence to identify human remains, and discover the cause of death. Traditionally, forensic anthropologists work with bodies in which all tissue has deteriorated making it difficult for other forensic specialists to determine information regarding the death. Additionally, they often work to harvest parts of bones to determine demographics about a cadaver. Likewise, forensic anthropologists take on several other unique roles in our society, such as identifying airplane crash remains and remains from other traumatic events. Forensic anthropologists work mainly in the laboratory, examining evidence and remains, however, several
in physical anthropology. This enables them to perform extensive research and gain experience in human identification, skeleton variation, and archaeological methods. After completion of Ph.D., anthropologists may eventually apply for the American Board of Forensic Anthropology to receive a certification

When challenged with the job of analyzing a body, forensic anthropologists must attempt to retrieve as much information about the person as possible. Forensic anthropologists usually strive for recognizing characteristics such as sex, race, stature, body height, and age. The adult human skeleton is composed of 206 bones (Goss, 1973) All bones are given a unique name and connect to other bones. The entire skeleton is composed of three main parts; The cranial skeleton is made up of the skull, mandible (jaw) and ear bones. The human skull contains tissue, which helps to hold the skull together. These tissues are known as cranial sutures and are “interlocking lines of fusion of the bones forming the skull (Medical Dictionary, 2012).” Throughout a person’s lifetime, these sutures begin to get smaller and close up. Due to this, these sutures play a large role in age identification. At birth,