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Anthropology online with Kopari, got an A on my essay about Forensic Anthropology, super straight forward...

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BRITTANY HOLMAN ANTH 101 SEC. 1 FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY Since the beginning of human evolution, humans have done nothing but make great strides in not only creating technology that benefit us for the future, but also for learning and analyzing more about the past. With the creation of this new area of technology, forensics, scientists and anthropologists are able to understand more about the times when they were not around. Over the years, it has progressed from a small idea to an important and highly recognized way of analyzing data for researchers around the world. Forensic anthropology is a field of physical anthropology that deals with the analysis of human skeletal remains resulting from unexplained deaths. Experts in this field examine human bones with the goal of extracting as much information as possible about the people who died and the circumstances related to it (Byers 2017). Forensic anthropologists work closely with individuals in law enforcement and medical science—and especially with specialists in ballistics, explosives, pathology, serology (the study of blood and bodily fluids), and toxicology—and are often expert witnesses in murder trials (Birx 2016). This idea first came to fruition in the thirteenth century, when medical examiners first started to think about people’s causes of death, whether it be natural, intentional, or unknown. Thomas Dwight is known as the “Father of Forensic Anthropology in the United States,” as he was the first to write essays, articles, and give lectures on the topic of human skeletal investigation, the backbone for forensics (Byers 2017). More and more information and research has been done on this since Dwight, and in 1893 Austrian criminologist Hans Gross published a book, Criminal Investigation,  which helped to

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establish the science of forensics in terms of a cross-transfer of evidence, such as dirt, fingerprints, carpet fibres, or hair, from the criminal to the victim. Early in the 20th century, serological research led to the discovery of the A, B, AB, and O blood  groups, thus increasing the value of blood as evidence at a crime scene. In the mid-20th century, advances in biochemistry and technology   resulted in the discovery of unique gene markers in each person; these genetic differences allow for the DNA  fingerprinting of hair, blood, semen, and tissue (Brix 2016). Thus, DNA testing was a major contribution to modern forensic science. During their work, forensic anthropologists go through tasks in order to assess the remains in reference to a whole population or just one individual. First, they try and determine ancestry, sex, age, and height by looking at the skeleton as well as the bone structures. According to one article, “Today, anthropologists are able to obtain an overall accuracy in sex determination that approaches 100% in adults” (1988:208). Next, if there is evidence of a trauma like bullet holes or fractures, they will identify the nature of the trauma and its cause. Thirdly, they will estimate the age of the body by drawing from the stages of skeletal metamorphosis, as well as their dental formation to get a solid idea of what may have happened to them (Iscan 1988). Following that, one journal states, “Because they are acquainted with the methods of archaeology, these specialists can assist in locating and and recovering buried or surface remains in such a manner that all evidence relevant to a forensic investigation is collected” (2017:1). With all of this information, scientists are then able to try and identify the individual and start working towards their goal, whether it be to find out when the individual died, how they died, or why.

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By looking at different physical factors of an individual, forensic anthropologists are able to get a good description of what this person looked like, their gender, age, and height as stated earlier. To determine the sex, they will visually inspect the pelvis--female and males are much different because of the shape of it. The female’s have more optimal space for the birth canal, which experts are able to see right away. If it is difficult to tell, they look at the skull. A male’s skull is more robust and large, while a female’s is more smooth. (Lundy 1998). To determine the age of the specimen, they look at bone length and even tooth size. They also look at the race, which some will argue is not important in finding out information about the individual. But to do so, the factor they look at the closest is the skull. According to one journal, “The skull, especially the facial region, is the most diagnostic for racial attribution. Nonmetric racial features of the skull have been outlined by Rhine and include such features as overall shape of the skull, shape of the nasal region, shape of the orbits, degree of protrusion of the jaw or prognathism, shape of the lower jaw, and certain features of the teeth, to name a few” (Lundy:424). Additionally, the femur and tibia are both used to determine the height of the person under review, and normally they are fairly accurate, however sometimes when looking at forms of identification, men tend to overestimate their height more than women, which makes it more tedious for researchers to be exact. All in all though, these methods are used all over the world and are a baseline for how research is to be conducted for all post death bodies. The very first case that a forensic anthropologist was used was Chicago’s famous Luetgert case of 1897. George A. Dorsey, born in 1868, was a pioneer of forensic anthropology in the United States. He served as an expert witness for the prosecution in this sensational case (Stewart 1978). In that year, Adolph Luetgert, a sausage manufacturer, was arrested and charged

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with the murder of his wife Louisa who disappeared two weeks prior. Investigators searched his factory for his wife and at the bottom of a large vat found two of her rings, a corset, and small pieces of bone. By examining the bones which consisted of a metatarsal bone, toe phalanx, sesamoid, and rib head, Dorsey was able to conclude and even testify that these were in fact from a human female. Other evidence was found to convict the sausage owner, but Snow’s article states that, “Dorsey’s testimony that the bone fragments were human were crucial to the state’s case” (1982:100). Not only has forensics played a major role in helping solve crimes, but it has been around for more than one hundred years. The advances of technology in the past couple decades have opened up the door for forensics to thrive in this day and age. One example that scientists use this method of analyzation for is to determine age with radiocarbon dating. This is also called the carbon 14 method, and it involved dating carbon isotopes, which is when elements have the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons (Larsen 255). Some isotopes are stable and will last forever, while others decay radioactively and may transform into stable isotopes of other elements. Carbon has one unstable isotope, also known as 14C. The radiocarbon method focuses on what happens to this isotope. Over 5,730 years, half of the 14C decays into 14N. Over the next 5,730 years, another half of the 14C decays again into 14N, and so on, until eventually most of the radioisotope will have decayed (Larsen 256). All living plants and animals absorb about the same amount of 14C in their tissues, through the ingestion of very small amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide. During the life of a plant or animal, the ratio of 14C to 12C remains relatively constant. Once the organism dies, it stops absorbing 14C and the 14C begins to decay, but the 12C does not decay. This means that the ratio of 14C to 12C changes over time—the longer

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since the death of the plant or animal, greater the amount of 12C relative to 14C (Larsen 257). This radiocarbon method is important to scientists because it gives them a baseline time of when the organism died. Although they can only accurately date back to about 50,000 years ago, it is an important way of determining ages of individuals that they would not have been able to do before. One of the most famous cases cracked by forensics was in Ted Bundy vs. Florida. Bundy was convicted and eventually sentenced to death in the electric chair for the rape and murders of 30+ women from 1969 to 1975, although the exact number is still unknown. These took place in throughout the Pacific Northwest, Utah, Colorado--and after he escaped from prison--Florida. Over six years he stalked women, until one day one woman escaped and was able to identify him and he was sentenced to 1-15 years for kidnapping. He escaped twice and fled to Florida where he assaulted and raped four girls and killed two at a sorority house in Tallahassee. At first, no one knew the attacker, but when investigators looked more into the case, they discovered something that would crack the whole thing--two bite marks on the buttocks and breast of one of the victims, Lisa Levy. According to one source, “Two  things were unique about the bite mark details of the Bundy case. First is the fact that Bundy had a wreck of a mouth and in bad need of a good orthodontist. Secondly, the fact that several of his teeth had broken edges, chips and defective fillings. Another factor in this case was that he bit his victim on the buttocks, which is one piece of flesh where the skin is smooth and unfolded” (Tabor 2014). Because of where he bit her, forensic scientists were able to get a better impression of the teeth and determine that they did in fact belong to Bundy. This case was very important for the beginning of forensic evidence to be used in crime cases.

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The creation of this new technology in anthropology has set a precedent for how specimen are to be handled in the future. It has helped thousands of scientists discover more about our past, future, and everything in between. We are now able to use this technology to crack cases and solve mysteries, as well as learn more about what has or will happen in our society.

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Bibliographies Birx, H. James 2016. Forensic Anthropology; Encyclopedia of Crime and Punishment. Encyclopedia Brittanica Byers, Stephen N. 2017. Introduction to Forensic Anthropology. Google Scholar . 1-19. Iscan, Mehmet Y. 1988. Rise of Forensic Anthropology; American Journal of Physical Anthropology. Wiley Online Library  31: 203-229. Larsen, Clark Spencer. 2017 Our Origins. New York:, N.Y.: W W Norton 255-257. Lundy, John K. 1998 Forensic Anthropology: What Bones Can Tell Us. Laboratory Medicine 29(7): 423–427. Snow, Clyde Collins. 1982. Forensic Anthropology; Annual Review of Anthropology. JSTOR Vol 11: 97-131. Stewart, T. Dale. 1978. G  eorge A. Dorsey's Role in the Luetgert Case: A Significant Episode in the History of Forensic Anthropology; Journal of Forensic Sciences. ResearchGate 23(4): 786-91. Tabor, Mike. 2014. A Closer Look at the Ted Bundy Case http://www.drmiketabor.com/blog/a-closer-look-at-the-ted-bundy-case. April 9, 2018.

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