Forensic Anthropology. An Introductory Lab Manual

"The perfect companion for undergraduate students taking a forensic anthropology class, providing engaging, hands-on exercises that walk students through sophisticated topics and methods. This manual also provides something that others do not: a user-friendly way to understand what constitutes data and how data is analyzed using statistics.”—Debra L. Martin, coeditor of Massacres: Bioarchaeology and Forensic Anthropology Approaches  
 
This versatile laboratory manual is designed to support introductory undergraduate courses in forensic anthropology. Usable for both in-person and online classes and suitable to accompany any textbook or for use on its own as a text–lab manual hybrid, it provides basic training for beginner students in relevant methods of biological profile estimation and trauma assessment for use in medico-legal death investigations.
 
Structured in a standard format for classes and existing texts, this manual offers a unique emphasis on lab exercises that align with general studies requirements and basic science competency. Each chapter begins with learning goals and an introductory section that outlines the topics to be covered. The discussion then leads students through the material, including periodic learning checks built into the structure of the chapter, followed by end-of-chapter exercises. Through clear explanations of fundamental principles, the complete medico-legal context is covered with respect to forensic anthropology. Basic information on bone biology, human osteology, and rules of evidence are also presented.
 
Alongside its substantive text discussion of key topics, this manual’s exercises can be used in in-person laboratory classes while its learning checks can be completed by online students without access to skeletal material or casts. This book offers the necessary content to teach forensic anthropology regardless of the experience or location of students or the resources of specific colleges and universities.  
 
Christopher M. Stojanowski, professor of anthropology in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University, is the author or editor of several books, including The Bioarchaeology of Ethnogenesis in the Colonial Southeast and Studies in Forensic Biohistory: Anthropological Perspectives. Andrew C. Seidel is the forensic anthropologist for the State of Washington.