Bimbingan & Konseling Antropologi Forensik

Antropologi Forensik

Rusyad Adi S.
Fakultas Kedokteran, Kesehatan
Masyarakat dan Keperawatan UGM
What is forensic anthropology?

Forensic anthropology is defined as the field of study

concerned with the identification of suspected or known
human remains from medico-legal contexts.
Anthropologists have been responsible for skeletal remains:
• complete,
• fragmentary,

varying states of preservation including

• fleshed,
• decomposed,
• burnt,
• dismembered/ mutilation or combination.
Forensic anthropologists involve
in identification related to:
• missing persons,
• criminal investigations,
• accidents,
• mass disasters,
• war crimes investigations, and
• clinical cases (e.g.: the age of an individual).
Personal identification achieved through:
1. Primary data:
DNA, dental characteristics, and dermatogliphic characteristics.
2. Secondary data:
piercings, tattoos, hair/eye color, fingernails etc.
Forensic anthropologists determine:
- biological identification: sex, age, ancestry, and stature of an individual.
- analysis of trauma to the skeleton.
Forensic anthropologist is responsible
for addressing questions:
1. Is the material bone?
2. Is the bone human or non-human?
3. What is the preservation of the remains?
4. Are the remains of forensic significance?
5. How many individuals are present?
6. What is the ancestry of the individual/s?
7. What is the sex of the individual/s?
8. What is the age of the individual/s?
9. What is the stature of the individual/s?
10. Are there any individualizing characteristics?
11. Is there evidence of trauma and or
pathology on the remains?
Consequently, it is important for practitioners dealing with
remains resulting from a mass disaster to have expertise not
only in human anatomy but also in:
• taphonomy (the study of the transition of organic remains
from the biosphere into the lithosphere) and
• diagnosis (the effects on organic remains that take place
between the time of burial and their recovery).

Forensic anthropologists describe on experiences

dealing with a wide variety of differentially
preserved remains in routine casework to assist in
DVI.
Forensic anthropologist involved in the
recovery of human remains:
• Recovering remains that might otherwise be unrecognizable and
therefore overlooked.
• The potential loss of evidence may impact on the reconstruction of
peri- and postmortem events.
• The spatial-temporal relationship between the bodies and associated
evidence, the body position and in determining the number of
individuals present.
How Forensic Anthropologists Read
Bones?
When bones or skeletons are found, they are taken to a forensic
laboratory for examination. The job of a forensic anthropologist is to
examine the bones, to possibly deduce the sex, age, race, height, as well
as medical history and manner of death.
Age
Suchey-Brooks method
The Suchey-Brooks phases in females
and males:
Todd’s method
Sex
Race
Os wormian
(intra sutural bones)

Os Inca
Stature
Regression formula for long bones
Bone commingling (ossoarium)
Skeletal pathology/injury
Cause of and time since death
Surface Human Body Identification

- Surface morphological identification: skin, hair, head,

face, eye, ear, nose, mouth/ lip, and infracranial
characteristics.
- Identification of pathology/injury.
- Identification of property/ accessories.
- Identification of cultural evidences on the body: body/
dental modification, tattoo, piercings, hair/eye color,
fingernails etc.
References
Adams, B.J., Crabtree, P.J. & Santucci, G. 2008 Comparative Skeletal
Anatomy: A Photography Atlas for Medical Examiners, Coroners,
Forensic Anthropologists, and Archaeologists. Totowa: Humana Press.
Black, S. & Ferguson, E. (eds.) 2011 Forensic Anthropology 2000 to 2010.
Boca Raton: CRC Press.
Blau, S. & Ubelaker, D. (eds.) 2009 Handbook of Forensic Archaeology
and Anthropology. Walnut Creek: Left Coast Press.
Burns, K.R. 1999 Forensic Anthropology Training Manual. Upper Saddle
River: Prentice Hall.
Byers, S.N. 2008 Introduction to Forensic Anthropology, 3rd. Boston:
Pearson Education, Inc.
Gowland, R. & Thomson, T. 2013 Human Identity and Identification.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hunter, J. & Cox, M. 2005 Forensic Archaeology: Advances in Theory
and practice. New York: Routledge.
Indriati, E. 2004 Antropologi Forensik: Identifikasi Rangka Manusia,
Aplikasi Antropologi Biologis dalam Konteks Hukum. Yogyakarta:
Gadjah University Press.