Figuratively Forensic Anthropology

Law enforcement agencies have relied on forensic art as one of their investigation methods for many years. The job of a forensic artist is quite difficult because he or she must reconstruct an image of an individual based on just hearsay and memory from another individual. The purpose of this study is to research forensic artists, also known as sketch artists, and their ability to draw up a suspect through the information provided by a witness. Interviews on two different forensic artists provide insight of the duties and hardships a law enforcement sketch artist takes on. The process of how law enforcement sketch artists are able to recreate the face of another individual, and how that picture can be a very useful piece of evidence for crime reports will also be addressed throughout the study. This study is relevant to anthropology because it touches on how how an individual perceives those around them and forensics itself is also one of the key topics discussed in biological anthropology.

While the thought of a giant farm full of decaying bodies may seem gruesome and terrifying, everyday it helps us learn new things about forensics. Firstly, The Body Farm was made known to the public when famous crime novelist Patricia Cornwell published a book with the same name about the farm (“Dead” 2). This book gave The Body Farm the recognition in more of a public eye. Patricia even states in the foreword of The Body Farm of how she came to learn about the farm and Dr. Bass, and how it changed her life. The Body Farm is an outdoor classroom designed to teach forensic anthropology students, and professionals in the legal and medical field, how the body decays and how the world plays a role in it (Drinnen 1). This farm not only benefits one type of science, but many all combined together, which is what forensics is made of. Police also use this to test and find how a body died in order to solve a case. The background behind the Body Farm is vast and important to our knowledge of the human body, whether we realize it or

Forensic anthropology is the physical or biological studies of a human skeleton. The purpose of a forensic anthropologist is to discover secrets hidden in bones. Forensic anthropologists are trained physical anthropologists. The difference between the two are the amount of knowledge involved in forensic anthropology. In forensic anthropology science, biology, and culture are applied to the legal process.

Forensic anthropology is a subfield of physical anthropology that aims to assist in the identification of human remains and to help determine what happened to the remains (Ubelaker, 2006). A forensic anthropologist is able to aid law enforcement by narrowing down the list of possible victims. This subfield of anthropology consists of several processes and a vast list of duties that are important in providing positive identification.Even though forensic anthropology dates back many years, major advancements in this field are still being made today.

After that they “analyze bones to determine the victim's biological profile” as it is said in “What is Forensic Anthropology” by R.U. Steinberg.

Description: Forensic Anthropologists helps to study the skeletal systems of people to determine the sex, ethnicity, and distinct characteristics of the dead skeleton they are studying.

“This is my lab and what we do is study bones,” states Kari Bruwelheide in her video entitled “30,000 Skeletons”. Out of all three resources, “Puzzles of the Chesapeake” by Sally Walker, “Forensic Anthropology” by an unknown author, and “30,000 Skeletons” by Smithsonian Education, but presented by Kari Bruwelheide, “30,000 Skeletons” is by far better at explaining the role of an anthropologist. It is unbeatable because it is a video and Kari Bruwelheide has personal experience of being a forensic anthropologist. A forensic anthropologist is a scientist that studies human remains, or in another word, skeletons, to try to find out information.

Forensic anthropologist examine skeletal remains for elements of a skeleton that can give clues to the person it belongs to. The Kennewick man’s skeleton was found in surprisingly good condition meaning the damage to the skeleton was done in his life, not due to deterioration. The skeleton showed a projectile point lodged in his hip, five broken ribs that did not properly heal, two small dents in his skull, and a bum shoulder. These wounds show an insight to the lifestyle

The phrase has a second meaning. The second meaning is literal. This means that people, would be giving actual faces, to the lost people. According to the article, it states,”...it needs to look enough like the victim… so someone can recognize it.” The anthropologists, will

Forensic anthropologist work with law enforcement agencies and assist in processing skeletal evidence. They study bones, a field known as osteology, and profile research subjects by gathering information used to determine the individuals ages at death, sex, and physical condition. They are expected to use scientific standards in their work.

Forensic Anthropologist involves with the study of human remains for legal purpose. This job helps the ever expanding world of criminal law and the need for justice. It helps bring answer in the science community on how to analyze and distinguish decaying remains and how to identify their identity. In conclusion forensic anthropologists allow for murders or accidents to be revealed and slowly let them rest in peace.

Facial reconstruction is the art of grasping information from a crime scene and turning it into a representation of an individual, who was apart of the setting in which a crime occurred. The reconstruction of a face incorporates various steps, one of which involves the creation of markers. A face is comprised of various components, which include, the nose, ears, eye sockets, mouth, and chin. These components start off with a foundation, in this case it is the markers. The markers provide the basis of tissue depth. The sizes are varied according to specific places on the face, for example, the cheeks would have larger markers than the skull due to more tissue depth. Furthermore, markers are made of thicker clay that are cut according to specific information. This information includes, witness accounts of, age, ethnicity, and

Facial Reconstruction or in other words forensic facial approximation, is the process of recreating the face of an individual- whose identity majority of the time is very well unknown from there skeletal remains through different types of forensic science such as an amalgamation of artistry (which is the making of the skeletal bones), forensic science, anthropology, osteology, and

“Giving Faces To The Lost” is a one of those long stories, but about forensic ornithology. People that work with this are called an anthropologist. Stuff they work with could be bones, skulls, and remarkably, DNA. This is a very important job to have and can earn lots of money, much as $60,000.

The next specialized personnel that I would utilize would be that of the sketch artist. This individual is very important to the investigation. The sketch artist is responsible for focusing on facial features as they interview informants, asking them to choose from examples of noses, eyes, mouths, foreheads and chins. Sketching is mostly done by hand, but forensic artists specializing in age progression may use computer graphic programs.