Forensic Anthropology Laboratory Manual

1. Introduction 

Learning Objectives  

Expected Outcomes  

Minimum Materials 

Optional Materials

  

2. Bones, Teeth, Measurements and Methods

Learning Objectives  

Expected Outcomes  

Minimum Materials 

Optional Materials  

Basic Terms 

Exercise 2.1: Cranial Skeleton  

Exercise 2.2: Axial Skeleton  

Exercise 2.3: Appendicular Skeleton: Upper Limbs  

Exercise 2.4: Appendicular Skeleton: Lower Limbs  

Exercise 2.5: Human Odontology 

Note to Instructors 

Exercise Worksheets

Learning Objectives  

Expected Outcomes 

Minimum Materials 

Optional Materials 

Exercise 2b.1 Basic Instruments and Their Use 

Exercise 2b.2 Metric System and U.S. Measure 

Note to Instructors 

Exercise Worksheets

 

3. Establishing Medicolegal Significance  

Learning Objectives  

Expected Outcomes  

Bones and Teeth versus Other Materials Exercise 

Minimum Materials  

Optional Materials 

Human Versus Nonhuman Exercise  

Minimum Materials  

Optional Materials  

Recent Versus Nonrecent Exercise 

Minimum Materials 

Optional Materials  

Exercise 3.1: Distinguishing Bone and Teeth from Other Material 

Exercise 3.2: Distinguishing Human from Nonhuman Remains 

Exercise 3.3: Distinguishing Recent from Nonrecent Remains 

Note to Instructors 

Exercise Worksheets

 

4. Recovery Scene Methods 

Learning Objectives 

Expected Outcomes 

Minimum Materials 

Optional Materials 

Exercise 4: Surface-Deposited Body (Outdoor or Indoor) 

Note to Instructors 

Exercise Worksheets

 

5. Estimating Postmortem Interval

Learning Objectives 

Expected Outcomes 

Minimum Materials 

Optional Materials 

Exercise 5.1: Estimating PMI Using General Decomposition 

Exercise 5.2: Estimating PMI Using TBS and ADD 

Exercise 5.3: Estimating PMI Using TADS and ADD 

Exercise 5.4: Estimating PMI Using Animal Scavenging 

Exercise 5.5: Estimating PMI Using Deterioration of Clothing and Other Materials 

Note to Instructors 

Exercise Worksheets

 

6. Initial Treatment and Examination

Learning Objectives 

Expected Outcomes 

Minimum Materials 

Optional Materials 

Exercise 6.1: Reconstruction 

Exercise 6.2: Sorting 

Exercise 6.3: Reassembly 

Exercise 6.4: Inventorying Remains 

Exercise 6.5: Highly Fragmented Remains 

Note to Instructors 

Exercise Worksheets

 

7. Attribution of Population Affinity

Learning Objectives 

Expected Outcomes 

Minimum Materials

Optional Materials 

Exercise 7.1: Estimating Population Affinity Using the Frequencies of Ordinally Scored Cranial Anthroposcopic Traits 

Exercise 7.2: Estimating Population Affinity Using Dental Characteristics 

Exercise 7.3: Estimating Population Affinity Using Discriminant Function Analysis of Dental Traits 

Exercise 7.4: Estimating Population Affinity Using Osteometry 

Note to Instructors 

Exercise Worksheets

 

8. Attribution of Sex

Learning Objectives 

Expected Outcomes 

Minimum Materials 

Optional Materials 

Exercise 8.1: Estimating Sex Using Pelvic Anthroposcopy 

Exercise 8.2: Estimating Sex Using Cranial Anthroposcopy 

Exercise 8.3: Estimating Sex Using MorphoPASSE 

Exercise 8.3: Estimating Sex Using Cranial Metrics: Discriminant Functions 

Exercise 8.4: Estimating Sex Using Postcranial Metrics 

Note to Instructors 

Exercise Worksheets

 

9. Estimation of Age at Death

Learning Objectives 

Expected Outcomes 

Minimum Materials 

Optional Materials 

SUBADULTS 

Exercise 9.1: Estimating Age at Death Using Long Limb Bone Measurements 

Exercise 9.2: Estimating Age at Death Using Union of Primary Ossification Centers 

Exercise 9.3: Estimating Age at Death Using Tooth Formation and Eruption 

Exercise 9.4: Estimating Age at Death Using Epiphyseal Union 

ADULTS 

Exercise 9.5: Estimating Age at Death Using Symphyseal Surface 

Exercise 9.6: Estimating Age at Death Using Auricular Surface of the Os Coxae 

Exercise 9.7: Estimating Age at Death Using Sternal Rib Ends 

Note to Instructors 

Exercise Worksheets

 

10. Calculation of Stature

Learning Objectives

Expected Outcomes

Minimum Materials

Optional Materials

Exercise 10.1: Calculating Stature Using Long Limb Bones

Exercise 10.2: Calculating Stature Using the Fully Method

Exercise 10.3: Calculating Stature From Fleshed Body Segments

Exercise 10.4: Adjustments to Stature Calculations

Note to Instructors

Exercise Worksheets

 

11. Death, Trauma, and the Skeleton

Learning Objectives

Expected Outcomes

Minimum Materials

Optional Materials

Exercise 11.1: Basics of Bone Trauma

Exercise 11.2: Forces Causing Trauma

Exercise 11.3: Types of Trauma

Exercise 11.4: Timing of Bone Injury

Note to Instructors

Exercise Worksheets

 

12. Projectile Trauma

Learning Objectives

Expected Outcomes

Minimum Materials

Optional Materials

Exercise 12: Analysis of Projectile Wounds

Note to Instructors

Exercise Worksheets

 

13. Blunt Trauma

Learning Objectives

Expected Outcomes

Minimum Materials

Optional Materials

Exercise 13.1: Analyzing Blunt Trauma to the Skull

Exercises 13.2A and 13.2B: Analyzing Blunt Trauma to the Postcranial Bones

Note to Instructors

Exercise Worksheets

 

14. Sharp and Miscellaneous Trauma

Learning Objectives

Expected Outcomes

Minimum Materials

Optional Materials

Exercise 14.1: Analyzing Sharp Trauma

Exercise 14.2: Analyzing Strangulation

Note to Instructors

Exercise Worksheets

 

15. Antemortem Skeletal Conditions

Learning Objectives

Expected Outcomes

Minimum Materials

Optional Materials

Exercise 15.1: Analyzing Pathological Conditions

Exercise 15.2: Analyzing Skeletal Anomalies

Exercise 15.3: Analyzing Occupational Stress Markers

Note to Instructors

Exercise Worksheets

 

16. Postmortem Changes to Bone

Learning Objectives

Expected Outcomes

Minimum Materials

Optional Materials

Exercise 16.1: Analyzing Saw Marks

Exercise 16.2: Analyzing Other Postmortem Damage

Note to Instructors

Exercise Worksheets

 

17. Additional Aspects of Individualization

Learning Objectives

Expected Outcomes

Minimum Materials

Optional Materials

Exercise 17.1: Facial Approximation

Exercise 17.2: Computerized Facial Reconstruction

Note to Instructors

Exercise Worksheets

 

18. Obtaining an Identification

Learning Objectives

Expected Outcomes

Minimum Materials

Optional Materials

Exercise 18.1: Identification From Radiographs

Exercise 18.2: Identification From Photographic Superimposition

Note to Instructors

Exercise Worksheets

 

19. Conclusion

Learning Objectives

Expected Outcomes

Minimum Materials

Optional Materials

Exercise 19.1: Forensic Anthropology Report

Exercise 19.2: Expert Witness Testimony Evaluation

Note to Instructors

Exercise Worksheets

This manual provides students in academic laboratory courses with hands-on experience in the major processes of forensic anthropology. Designed to accompany the textbook Introduction to Forensic Anthropology, sixth edition, the manual introduces core procedures and protocol, with exercise worksheets to reinforce the methodologies of forensic anthropology and enhance student comprehension. For the fifth edition, the manual has been updated in line with the textbook, incorporating new methods, figures, and worksheets. Each chapter contains explanations of the terminology, osteological features, and measurements needed to understand each of the topics. New for this edition, in many chapters students will find the incorporation of QR codes to give them immediate access to relevant video or website content to assist with the task at hand. In addition, in an attempt to create an inclusive learning environment, the authors have included online resources for most chapters that can be used in place of skeletons or other classroom resources so that all students can utilize the lab manual regardless of their classroom setup. Chapters may be covered in one session or multiple sessions and include lists of both basic and optional lab materials, enabling instructors to tailor each lab to the resources they have available.

Steven N. Byers has a PhD in Anthropology from the University of New Mexico (UNM), USA. Now retired, he worked for a number of years on various campuses of UNM, teaching courses in forensic anthropology, biological anthropology, and archaeology. He is currently serving on the Anthropology Consensus Body of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences Standards Board, in addition to focusing on Southeastern United States bioarchaeology. Byers’ publications with Taylor & Francis include Introduction to Forensic Anthropology (in its sixth edition).

Chelsey A. Juarez is an Associate Professor of Anthropology and the Director of the Fresno State Forensic Anthropology Laboratory at California State University, Fresno, USA. She is also the Director of the Central California Missing and Unidentified Deceased Persons Cold Case Initiative, a 19-county initiative to identify the deceased unidentified in rural Central California. Her research interests focus on isotopic investigations of provenance and diet, with a special focus on the Latino Diaspora and the US–Mexico border through time. In addition, she has researched and written about child abuse, intimate partner violence, and case accuracy trends in forensic anthropology. She is a first-generation Mexican-American. She holds a doctorate from the University of California Santa Cruz in Biological Anthropology, with a specialization in forensic anthropology and the Latino Diaspora.