Forensic Anthropology Essay

Forensic Science is defined as the application of science and scientific methods to civil and criminal laws. Forensic Science in itself is an incredibly broad topic. This can apply to many careers, such as forensic accounting. In this paper, I will be discussing forensic science and crime scene investigation as it relates to law enforcement. With advancements in technology, forensic science and crime scene investigations are not only intriguing, but also a vital, ever changing and growing career field.

Forensics is an extracurricular activity offered to students in 6th, 7th & 8th grade. The purpose of middle school forensics is to build self-confidence and oral competency by developing and practicing fundamental public speaking skills.

To record a crime scene, forensic scientist can use photography, drawings, and videography. Photographs are an important record of the unaltered crime scene, Drawings or sketches provides valuable information when a photograph cannot accurately depict the scale of a room or the relationship of items to each

7) Pollen & Spore identification can provide important trace evidence in solving crimes dues to their

Forensic Science has contributed to our world a great deal. People often misunderstand Forensic Science and believe it is much more capable than it really is. As a matter of fact what you see on T.V. is around 80% false or over exaggerated in some way. To Start of, Criminal Investigation is the largest and most known form of Forensic Science. Some of the more known areas include; Fingerprinting, Ballistics, DNA Identification, Fiber Samples, Computer Animation, Documentation analysis, etc. To get this out of the way in the beginning, what you saw on last night’s law and order is far from the truth. Things they do in a matter of hours take months at a time, and most of the time aren’t even plausible concepts.

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.

The Insanity defense is mentioned as confusing to the psychiatric and legal concept. Furthermore, it is explained that the word “insane” is more of a legal word, then a medical term, and therefor to prove a person or a criminal insane, one must find the mental condition, of a criminal, severely impaired to the point of losing one’s free will. A psychiatrist may be or may not able to determine such illness, and a jury’s decision solely based on a psychiatrists’ opinion may be grounded on unreliable evidence. Retrieved from; West's Encyclopedia of American Law, edition 2 (2008).

The distribution of skeletal remains tell the scientists how long the bones or individual has been there. The most challenging part for me would have to be finding the little pieces of the puzzle, the missing link or where the body originally was.

Goodman, P. (n.d.). How Long does it take for a body to decompose. Retrieved from

1). Forensic Psychology is the application of the theories of psychology to law and the legal system. Issues of violence and its impact on individuals and/or groups delineate the main and central concerns in Forensics within the adult, juvenile, civil, and family domains. Forensic psychologists provide advice to legislators, judges, correctional officers, lawyers, and the police. They are called upon, for example, to serve as an expert witness, diagnose and treat incarcerated and probationed offenders, and screen and evaluate personnel in the law enforcement and judicial systems. Forensics encompasses a wide range of academic orientation. Synonyms for Forensic psychologists include criminal psychologist,

Texas Tech, the nation’s second largest campus, has many fields that could help me lean

between a cut (an injury that is longer than deep) and a stab wound (an injury

This excavation allows researchers to assess age through Accelerator Mass Spectrometry dating, as well as possibly determine what their last meal was. Following the excavation, in order to keep the bog bodies in a state where research can continue, it is essential to conserve the bodies. For this step novel approaches are put into use in order to keep the body the way it is.

A variety of chemical and physical processes change an organism after its death. Taphonomy is the study of these processes and how they are influenced by the activity of humans, animals, and natural agents (Erfemov 1940, Behrensmeyer 2000, Duday 2009, Nawrocki 1995, Stodder 2008:71). Taphonomy is especially important to bioarcheologists because it enables them to reconstruct how mortuary environments affect skeletal remains. Furthermore, there are two main types of taphonomic factors, extrinsic and intrinsic that are analyzed. Extrinsic taphonomic elements represent as the surrounding environmental influences that affect the decomposition of remains. Examples of extrinsic elements include weathering, human disturbance, and plant roots. Intrinsic