Anthropology And Forensic Anthropology

William Maples is a forensic anthropologist, someone who specializes in the human skeletal system, its variations across the world, and its changes through life and across many lifetimes; not a forensic pathologist, a medical doctor with its residency training in pathology. Maples defends the use of science to understand human nature; he defends the science of forensic anthropology for its usefulness in solving gruesome crimes and historical mysteries. He says that it can pay for itself in reduced court costs and that every state in the United States should have at least one on staff. Decomposition involves two processes: autolysis and putrefaction. Autolysis occurs when digestives juices start to digest the gastrointestinal tract.

In this paper I will be comparing contrasting two various aspects of forensic sciences used, and talking about the different tactics used to identify suspects; as well as the contrasts between the two methods. The man I will be talking about is John Wayne Gacy. The two methods I will be going over are, Finger print DNA and Forensic toxicology. These two are very similar, but made substantial differences in the evidence in his case. John Wayne Gacy was a murderer from Chicago, Illinois.

As anyone can discover a crime scene, it is understandable that the crime scene could potentially be altered at any time before experts arrive (Standing Bear 1999). The arrival of police and beginning of the investigation is the most important stage of the investigation (Standing Bear

Using a loose timeline, the stage of mortis or decomposition that the cadaver is in can be used to determine time of death. The specific time of death can either confirm or disprove an alibi, which helps in narrowing down a list of suspects or ultimately convicting a criminal. These same factors, specifically rigor, can also determine if a person truly died where the body was found. During rigor, a body stiffens. If a body is found in an unnatural position in regards to their surroundings while still in the stage of rigor mortis, then it can be concluded that they did not die there.

For example, one can note how the introduction of the Daubert criteria in the courtroom has played an important role within forensic anthropology. The Daubert efforts allow for the connection between data and methods to be used as admissibility of the conclusions, rather than on the credentials of the experts (Dirkmaat, 2008, p. 36). This copernican shift of the legal system regarding the treatment of scientific evidence as it is presented in court, distinguishes the primary role of forensic anthropologists in mass disaster scenarios and the enhanced role for quantitative methods in human skeletal analysis (Dirkmaat, 2008, p.

Forensic

Science has come a long way over the years. It has helped countless every day struggles and cure diseases most commonly found. What you don’t hear about however is the advancement of forensic science. Forensic science has helped solve countless cases of murder, rape, and sexual assault. In the case of John Joubert, it helped solve the murders of three young boys with one small piece of evidence that linked him directly to the crime.

career journal activity: 1.2.3 Bone Detectives description: read interviews with forensic anthropologist and synthesize a definition of the career. my work: A forensic anthropologist is a group of people who investigate a dead body to discover its gender, ancestry, stature, ethnicity and other unique features about it. Through their investigations they can also discover how the victim may have died and other important background information that can move the investigation further in solving the case. A forensic anthropologist needs to be able to conduct research, know their bones, muscles and other body parts along with be able to make educated conclusions related to the received data and observations they find and make. activity: forensic anthropologist

Forensic Science in the 1920’s was not as high-tech as the Forensic Science of today; with hair comparisons, DNA tests, the testing of bodily fluids, and fingerprinting to identify the person(s) suspected of doing the crime. Forensic Science is the practical application of Science to the law to prove the guilt or innocence of a person. Since its initial application over the years, Forensic Science has helped revolutionize the law and bringing forth of justice. Used in the “perfect crime” to convict two high profile and unlikely people to cause such a horrific crime that caused the pain of a family and a death of a boy who had just started living.

Anthropology Questions: 1. Was this crime indicative of the beliefs, morals, and culture of the two aggressors? 2. Were there any scratch marks found on the victim? Were there any fingernails found at the scene of the crime?

In 1892, a young woman named Lizzie Borden was accused of murdering her father and stepmother (“Lizzie Borden on Trial” 2). This accusation was influenced by the lack of evidence at the scene of the crime. There appeared to be no murder weapon, very few witnesses, and the house did not show any signs of an intruder (“Lizzie Borden on Trial” 5). Once the scene was investigated, it was determined that the cause of death for both victims was multiple blows to the head by an axe. Two axes were found in the home, and neither had a speck of blood (“Lizzie Borden on Trial” 14).

cited Fradella, Henry, Lauren 'Neill, and Adam Fogarty. " The Impact of Daubert on Forensic Science". Pepperdine Law Review 31.4 (2004): 322-361. Print.

Some of the overlapping areas of the subfields of anthropology are that forensic anthropology and osteology are connected because a forensic anthropology relies on processes that osteologists use to determine how an individual died, weather it was from diseases, natural causes, or other causes. Forensic anthropologists used the same methods when human remains are found in an archeological site, forensic anthropologists determine if the remains are recent or the remains of a hominin. Another overlapping area would be primate paleontology and primatology. These two subfields are similar because on focuses on the habits, environment, and lifestyles of fossilized primates while the other subfield focuses on the behavior patterns of primates and how they differ from the behavior of humans and other non-human primates. It is important to understand humankind from a holistic perspective because it will show how humans developed and evolved and adapted to their environments

For example, they use the skull to find their race and long bone for height. Two steps that forensic anthropologist will take to find this person’s

The term “post-mortem examination” refers to any form of examinations that are carried out after death. While necropsy (look at the dead) and autopsy (see for oneself) are also used together with post-mortem examination, the word “autopsy” is more accurate in matching the procedural aim: to observe the body directly than to depend on disease indicators like signs and symptoms. Forensic medicine, on the other hand, comes as a subset of medical jurisprudence. It involves retrieving and analysing of medical evidences from samples to formulate objective information in legal usage.