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What does a Forensic Anthropologist do?

Niki Acker
By
Updated: May 17, 2024
Views: 28,142
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A forensic anthropologist uses his or her knowledge of physical anthropology in a legal setting. Forensic anthropology is typically used in law to help identify deceased individuals from remains that are heavily damaged or decayed. A forensic anthropologist can use his or her expertise to determine, for example, the gender, age, height, and ancestry of the deceased. He or she can also offer insight on trauma or disease affecting the remains.

In most cases, a forensic anthropologist does not spend all of his or her time working with law enforcement, but is called in to assist with cases when needed. Most forensic anthropologists spend the majority of their professional life in an academic setting. In order to work in the field of law, an anthropologist must have a doctorate degree at least, which requires a minimum of five years of graduate study. In addition, a physical anthropologist must develop expertise in the subfield of osteology, or the study of human skeletal material. Other branches of physical anthropology are more suited to domains including the study of disease in living patients, human evolution, or the study of the brain.

In addition to the help of contemporary physical anthropologists, law enforcement techniques benefit from the work of physical anthropologists in past, and their research collections of human skeletal remains. Some of the most important of these in the United States are the Hamann-Todd Collection, the Terry Collection, and the William M. Bass Donated Skeletal Collection. The statistical analysis of such collections aids in the analysis of remains in a legal setting. Forensic anthropologists typically work as part of a team, along with homicide investigators, forensic dentists, and forensic pathologists.

The expertise of a forensic anthropologist is legally sufficient for determining age, sex, height, and ancestry based on human remains. The legal authority of the forensic anthropologist does not extend beyond this point in the United States. A forensic anthropologist may help determine the cause of death, though only the coroner or medical examiner may make the official statement. Forensic anthropologists sometimes employ more experimental methods, such as facial reconstruction, but the results of such procedures are usually inadmissible as evidence in a court of law. A forensic anthropologist may testify in court as an expert witness.

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Niki Acker
By Niki Acker
"In addition to her role as a WiseGeek editor, Niki Foster is passionate about educating herself on a wide range of interesting and unusual topics to gather ideas for her own articles. A graduate of UCLA with a double major in Linguistics and Anthropology, Niki's diverse academic background and curiosity make her well-suited to create engaging content for WiseGeekreaders. "

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Discussion Comments
By anon343521 — On Jul 31, 2013

Well, this is helpful with my forensic science homework.

By subway11 — On Sep 08, 2010

Sneakers41-I think that is so cool how they do that. I do know that the forensic anthropologist education requires graduate study to the level of a doctorate degree.

A doctorate degree will allow you to conduct research, assist law enforcement, and teacher college courses. The forensic anthropologist salary ranges from $40,000 to $75,000.

By sneakers41 — On Sep 08, 2010

A forensic anthropologist job often entails assisting the police in determining not only the identification of the victim, such as the gender, approximate age and possible cause of death.

Also, the forensic anthropologist education also includes a new area of biometrics. Biometrics is a computer generated image of what a person would look like.

For example, when someone has been missing for a while, a forensic anthropologist will usually create an age progression photo based on the cranial features.

This helps the general public to identify a missing person that may still be alive even after a long period of time that they have gone missing.

Niki Acker
Niki Acker
"In addition to her role as a WiseGeek editor, Niki Foster is passionate about educating herself on a wide range of...
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