137

Forensic

Anthropology

harrell Gill-KinG

Contents
8.1 Introduction 137
8.2 Typical Case Progression 1 38
8.2.1 Animal vs. Human and Minimum Number of Individuals 1 39
8.2.2 Minimum Number of Individuals 140
8.2.3 Medicolegal Significance of Human Remains 140
8.2.4 The Biological Profile 141
8.2.4.1 Sex 141
8.2.4.2 Ancestry 142
8.2.4.3 Skeletal and Dental Age 1 43
8.2.4.4 Stature and Physique 1 46
8.2.5 Individualization 147
8.2.6 Postmortem Interval 1 48
8.2.7 Trau ma 149
8.2.7.1 Antemortem Trauma and Pathology 150
8.2.7.2 Perimortem Trauma 150
8.2.7.3 Postmortem Trauma 1 54
8.3 Databases 155
8.4 The Future 1 57
References 158

8.1 Introduction

“Forensic anthropology is the application of the science of physical anthro-
pology to the legal process.”^1 Forensic anthropologists provide services to a
large community, which includes a variety of law enforcement agencies, from
local to federal or even international jurisdictions, medical examiners, coro-
ners, and others charged with the responsibility for the investigation of death.
In these endeavors forensic anthropologists cooperate with odontologists,
pathologists, radiologists, and other forensic specialists who deal routinely
with human remains. In the fourteen years since the eminent William R.
Maples scribed the initial version of this chapter,^2 forensic anthropology has
experienced a dramatic increase in visibility within the popular culture as a

8