15: Bioarchaeology and Forensic Anthropology
- Page ID
- 158816
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- 15.1: Bioarchaeology and Forensic Anthropology
- Bioarchaeology and forensic anthropology are both subfields of biological anthropology. While the goals of each subfield are different, each relies on skeletal analysis to gain information about humans, both past and present. This chapter will provide a general overview of the analysis of human skeletal remains, as it applies to both bioarchaeology and forensic anthropology.
- 15.2: Initial Skeletal Analysis
- While bioarchaeology and forensic anthropology have different goals and purposes, they both rely on skeletal analysis to reveal information about the deceased. Whether they aim to determine more information regarding an individual deceased for thousands of years (bioarchaeologists) or one who died within the last year (forensic anthropologists), they carry out the same basic steps as part of their analysis.
- 15.3: Constructing the Biological Profile
- “Who is it?” is one of the first questions that law enforcement officers ask when they are faced with a set of skeletal remains. Likewise, when human bones are found as part of archaeological fieldwork, the remains present the opportunity to learn more about the individuals who lived in the past. In order to answer this question, “who is it?”, bioarchaeologists and forensic anthropologists construct a biological profile
- 15.4: Trauma Analysis and Bone Pathology
- Forensic anthropologists can assist a forensic pathologist by providing an interpretation of the course of events that led to skeletal trauma. Within the field of bioarchaeology, trauma analyses may contribute to a deeper understanding of past lifeways and interpersonal relationships. Within this section, the different types of trauma will be briefly outlined as well as take a look at both osteoblastic and osteoclastic pathologies of the human skeleton.
- 15.5: Taphonomy
- The majority of the skeletal analysis process revolves around the identity of the deceased individual. However, there is one last, very important question bioarchaeologists and forensic anthropologists should ask: What happened to the remains after death? Generally speaking, processes that alter the bone after death are referred to as taphonomic changes.
- 15.6: Ethics and Human Rights
- Working with human remains requires a great deal of consideration and respect for the dead. Forensic anthropologists and bioarchaeologists have to think about the ethics beyond our use of human remains for scientific purposes. How do we conduct casework in the most respectable manner possible? This section will discuss several ethical issues to consider when contemplating a career in forensic anthropology and bioarchaeology.
- 15.7: End of Chapter Review
- Discussion questions and key term definitions.