Forensic Anthropology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Forensic Anthropology - Essay Example Having understood the two, it is then necessary to draw a link between the two or evaluate all the possible relationships between the two. It will also be imperative to reckon that a marriage between the two possible brings forth what is commonly termed as forensic anthropology. This paper seeks to show how biological anthropologist assist with a forensic investigation besides identification of individuals. The paper starts first by understanding what forensic is, then moves on to define anthropology and forensic anthropology then shows how anthropology can aid in forensics. The term forensic refers to the application of scientific knowledge in a bid to solve legal problems and enable the smooth running of legal proceedings (Bartol, 2004: p8). As such, any profession that uses scientific knowledge aids bin forensics and this explains the existence of such terms as forensic anthropology, forensic medicine, forensic science, forensic experts etc. Forensic comes from a Latin word "forensic" which means relating to a forum and forum in this case which according to the ancient Rome was a market place where people congregated to conduct all sorts of business as well as public affairs. As time went on, the term forensic was limited to reference of the courts of law thus entering English use in 1659 with that very meaning. Therefore, forensic refers to law problems or issues which are solved by the application of scientific knowledge. The word anthrop... Human beings and their ancestors are studied in terms of the physical characteristics, social and environmental relations and culture. Main concern of anthropology is the origin of the present homosapien's, ancestors, evolutionary development etc. As such, anthropologists study the skeletons, DNA, tools, etc of the modern man's ancestors to locate the origin of the present day behaviours and culture. Thus, the common questions asked by the anthropologists include but are not limited to: 1 What defines human beings 2 Who are the ancestors of modern human beings 3 What are the human physical traits 4 How do human beings behave 5 Why the differences and variations among the human beings 6 How has the evolutionary past human beings influenced both the culture and social organization These are just but examples of questions asked by anthropologists and have been used to offer a rough estimation of the scope of anthropology. The modern anthropology borrows extensively from both the humanities and natural sciences such as biology and chemistry. The modern anthropologists have specialized in technical subfields which have found wider applications both within and without the scope of anthropology. What is Forensic Anthropology Basically, forensic anthropology is the application of anthropology in forensics. It is simply the marriage between anthropology and forensics. Generally, forensic anthropology is the assessment of the skeletal remains of human beings on behalf of the law enforcers in a bid to establish the identity of the bones (Klepinger, 2006: p3). Anthropology is wide and is divided into linguistic anthropology, cultural anthropology, archaeology and physical anthropology. Of great help to forensic is the physical