Forensic anthropology 157
by biological profile information. Although it is not always possible to accu-
rately determine all of the features of the profile, an effort must be made.
The “submission” issue is a large one. Reasons for the U.S. population’s
rejection of national forms of identity databasing have deep roots in a variety
of historical, cultural, political, psychological, and religious factors. Many
countries require that some form of personal identifier be entered into a national
database; e.g., in Korea persons are fingerprinted at the age of eighteen. Though
many large organizations and governmental agencies require and store vari-
ous forms of personal identification, whether biometric, fingerprints, DNA,
or others, these have very limited access and do not interact. Thus, their value
in large-scale searches for the missing and unknown remains is negligible. In
this connection, an increasing number of states have enacted statutes requir-
ing that remains not identified within a particular interval must be submitted
to the National Missing Persons (CODIS) Database. The promise of databases
will not be realized until the problems of accurate data entr y and interconnec-
tivity as well as broad public acceptance and participation are resolved.
8.4 The Future
Changes in training and technology in the United States and elsewhere have
already produced a generation of forensic anthropologists who have moved
beyond osteoarchaeology applied to identification, and increasingly toward an
amalgam of bone biology and chemistry, molecular analysis, and ever more
sophisticated software and instrumentation. Contemporary forensic anthro-
pologists will be as comfortable interpreting x-ray fluorescence data, analyzing
stable isotope ratios, and reading MRI scans as their predecessors were with
calipers and flat plate radiographs. Several predictions seem worthwhile:
- Increased use of anthropological findings as metadata within a
molecular and biometric database identification framework will
mandate more comprehensive validation studies to strengthen ele-
ments of the biological profile in a post-Daubert environment. - Growing realization that “one size does not fit all” will result in the
dissemination of taphonomic research facilities into an increasing
number of biotic provinces, including montane, marine, and lacustrine
environments, to address a variety of problems, from determination
of postmortem interval to improved evidence location and recovery
methods. These will translate into greater admissibility in an era of
rising evidentiary standards. - There will be a need for expansion of contemporary osteological study
collections to support ongoing validation studies as well as research
and teaching. These collections will need to be more diverse, and the