Did you know that forensic anthropologists can tell you the age, sex, gender, race and cause of death all by examining the skeletal remains of a deceased individual? Well, it’s true! Forensic Anthropology may be a field that is relatively new to the criminal justice world, but new or not, it sure does add significant value to any investigation having to do with unidentifiable remains. The world of forensic anthropology is known by few, but the community is a very well educated and close-knit community dedicated to their work in all government and non-government cases. To think you could get an identification from a flesh-less set of bones was unheard of 30 years ago. But with the development of this field that has come far in such a short time,
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This prestigious organization association is by no means needed to have a career in the field, but it is a group of the most esteemed colleagues in the field. Getting this accreditation or certification is the top of the top for the field of forensic anthropology, and to do so demonstrates your commitment and excellence in the field. To this day there are under 200 people that have so far acquired this achievement, it is the highest of honors and something all in this field should strive …show more content…
Remains have been found in a field, so far a skull and some other unidentified bones have been found by a farmhand on a newly purchased farm. The farmhand, of course, finds the skull and bones, proceeds to freak out, and then calls in the authorities to sort out this find for him. When the police arrive on the scene, they then secure a perimeter around the “grave” and quickly realize these bones have been there for what appears to be quite some time. This is where the police place a call into a team of forensic anthropologists, and the crime scene is turned over to them (Haglund, 2001). When the anthropologist team determines that not all skeletal bones are accounted for, they then organize a team to do a survey of the surrounding areas. This area survey consists of all officials at the site organizing into a line and walking side by side down the area surveying the ground for anything that could possibly be a bone. Every piece of material that is possibly a bone is flagged for further investigation and the search goes on, usually in some type of back and forth pattern. When the area survey is completed, the tagged or flagged items are then reviewed by the forensic anthropologists and determined to be part of the missing skeleton pieces or not. This is the most cost effective way to find the remaining missing bone fragments. When enough bone
This prestigious organization association is by no means needed to have a career in the field, but it is a group of the most esteemed colleagues in the field. Getting this accreditation or certification is the top of the top for the field of forensic anthropology, and to do so demonstrates your commitment and excellence in the field. To this day there are under 200 people that have so far acquired this achievement, it is the highest of honors and something all in this field should strive …show more content…
Remains have been found in a field, so far a skull and some other unidentified bones have been found by a farmhand on a newly purchased farm. The farmhand, of course, finds the skull and bones, proceeds to freak out, and then calls in the authorities to sort out this find for him. When the police arrive on the scene, they then secure a perimeter around the “grave” and quickly realize these bones have been there for what appears to be quite some time. This is where the police place a call into a team of forensic anthropologists, and the crime scene is turned over to them (Haglund, 2001). When the anthropologist team determines that not all skeletal bones are accounted for, they then organize a team to do a survey of the surrounding areas. This area survey consists of all officials at the site organizing into a line and walking side by side down the area surveying the ground for anything that could possibly be a bone. Every piece of material that is possibly a bone is flagged for further investigation and the search goes on, usually in some type of back and forth pattern. When the area survey is completed, the tagged or flagged items are then reviewed by the forensic anthropologists and determined to be part of the missing skeleton pieces or not. This is the most cost effective way to find the remaining missing bone fragments. When enough bone