A Companion to Forensic Anthropology

Dennis C. Dirkmaat is the Chair of the undergraduate program in Applied Forensic Sciences and the Masters of Science in Anthropology at Mercyhurst University.

List of Illustrations ix

List of Tables xvi

Notes on Contributors xvii

About This Book xxix

Acknowledgments xxxv

Part I Introduction and Brief History of Forensic Anthropology 1

1 Forensic Anthropology: Embracing the New Paradigm 3
Dennis C. Dirkmaat and Luis L. Cabo

Part II Recovery of Human Remains from Outdoor Contexts 41

Introduction to Part II 43
Dennis C. Dirkmaat

2 Documenting Context at the Outdoor Crime Scene: Why Bother? 48
Dennis C. Dirkmaat

3 Determining the Forensic Significance of Skeletal Remains 66
John J. Schultz

4 The Application of Ground-Penetrating Radar for Forensic Grave Detection 85
John J. Schultz

5 Crime Scene Perspective: Collecting Evidence in the Context of the Criminal Incident 101
Michael J. Hochrein

6 The Role of Forensic Anthropology in the Recovery and Interpretation of the Fatal-Fire Victim 113
Dennis C. Dirkmaat, Gregory O. Olson, Alexandra R. Klales, and Sara Getz

7 Forensic Anthropology at the Mass Fatality Incident ( Commercial Airliner) Crash Scene 136
Dennis C. Dirkmaat

8 Mass Graves and Human Rights: Latest Developments, Methods, and Lessons Learned 157
Hugh H. Tuller

9 Archaeology, Mass Graves, and Resolving Commingling Issues through Spatial Analysis 175
Luis L. Cabo, Dennis C. Dirkmaat, James M. Adovasio, and Vicente C. Rozas

Part III Developments in Forensic Osteology 197

Introduction to Part III 199
Luis L. Cabo

10 Developments in Forensic Anthropology: Age-at-Death Estimation 202
Heather M. Garvin, Nicholas V. Passalacqua, Natalie M. Uhl, Desina R. Gipson, Rebecca S. Overbury, and Luis L. Cabo

11 Skeletal Age Estimation: Where We are and Where We Should Go 224
George R. Milner and Jesper L. Boldsen

12 Adult Sex Determination: Methods and Application 239
Heather M. Garvin

13 Sexual Dimorphism: Interpreting Sex Markers 248
Luis L. Cabo, Ciarán P. Brewster, and Juan Luengo Azpiazu

14 Morphoscopic Traits and the Assessment of Ancestry 287
Joseph T. Hefner, Stephen D. Ousley, and Dennis C. Dirkmaat

15 Fordisc 3 and Statistical Methods for Estimating Sex and Ancestry 311
Stephen D. Ousley and Richard L. Jantz

16 Estimating Stature 330
Stephen D. Ousley

Part IV Developments in Human Skeletal Trauma Analysis 335

Introduction to Part IV 337
Dennis C. Dirkmaat

17 Interpreting Traumatic Injury to Bone in Medicolegal Investigations 340
Steven A. Symes, Ericka N. L ’ Abbé, Erin N. Chapman, Ivana Wolff, and Dennis C. Dirkmaat

18 The Biomechanics of Gunshot Trauma to Bone: Research Considerations within the Present Judicial Climate 390
Hugh E. Berryman, Alicja K. Lanfear, and Natalie R. Shirley

19 Developments in Skeletal Trauma: Blunt-Force Trauma 400
Nicholas V. Passalacqua and Todd W. Fenton

Part V Advances in Human Identification 413

Introduction to Part V 415
Dennis C. Dirkmaat

20 Advances in the Anthropological Analysis of Cremated Remains 418
Traci L. Van Deest, Michael W. Warren, and Katelyn L. Bolhofner

21 Human Identification Using Skull–Photo Superimposition and Forensic Image Comparison 432
Norman J. Sauer, Amy R. Michael, and Todd W. Fenton

22 DNA Analysis and the Classic Goal of Forensic Anthropology 447
Luis L. Cabo

23 DNA Identification and Forensic Anthropology: Developments in DNA Collection, Analysis, and Technology 462
David Boyer

Part VI Forensic Taphonomy 471

Introduction to Part VI 473
Dennis C. Dirkmaat and Nicholas V. Passalacqua

24 Current Research in Forensic Taphonomy 477
Marcella H. Sorg, William D. Haglund, and Jamie A. Wren

25 The Use of Taphonomy in Forensic Anthropology: Past Trends and Future Prospects 499
Mark O. Beary and R. Lee Lyman

Part VII Forensic Anthropology Beyond Academia 529

Introduction to Part VII 531
Dennis C. Dirkmaat

26 Forensic Anthropologists in Medical Examiner ’ s and Coroner ’ s Offices: A History 534
Hugh E. Berryman and Alicja K. Lanfear

27 Forensic Anthropology at the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner 549
Christopher W. Rainwater, Christian Crowder, Kristen M. Hartnett, Jeannette S. Fridie, Benjamin J. Figura, Jennifer Godbold, Scott C. Warnasch, and Bradley J. Adams

28 The Many Hats of a Recovery Leader: Perspectives on Planning and Executing Worldwide Forensic Investigations and Recoveries at the JPAC Central Identification Laboratory 567
Paul D. Emanovsky and William R. Belcher

Part VIII Forensic Anthropology Outside North America 593

Introduction to Part VIII 595
Dennis C. Dirkmaat

29 European Perspectives and the Role of the Forensic Archaeologist in the UK 598
Nicholas Márquez-Grant, Stephen Litherland, and Julie Roberts

30 The Establishment and Advancement of Forensic Anthropology in South Africa 626
Ericka N. L ’ Abbé and Maryna Steyn

31 The Application of Forensic Anthropology to the Investigation of Cases of Political Violence 639
Luis Fondebrider

Part IX Ethics, Overview, and the Future of Forensic Anthropology 649

Introduction to Part IX 651
Dennis C. Dirkmaat

32 The Pervasiveness of Daubert 654
Stephen D. Ousley and R. Eric Hollinger

33 Ethics in Forensic Anthropology 666
Diane L. France

34 An “Outsider” Look at Forensic Anthropology 683
James M. Adovasio

Index 690