Forensic anthropology

Forensic anthropology is a sub-field of physical anthropology that involves studying

bones to figure out how they died, when they died, how old they were, who died, and what
gender they were. Forensic anthropologists specialize in analyzing bones and other hard tissues.
Most forensic anthropologists have training in archaeology, making them also knowledgeable
about excavating buried remains and recording the evidence. A doctorate in anthropology
(Ph.D.) or an area closely related, with a focus on forensic anthropology, human osteology,
skeletal biology, human skeletal variation, human anatomy, and statistics, is needed to work as a
forensic anthropologist. People mainly use forensic anthropology to help identify mass graves,
identify how old certain bones are from excavation sites, and even help identify murder victims
like in the show bones. Speaking of the show bone forensic anthropologists work with detectives
and C.S.I.S (Canadian Security Intelligence Service) to help identify bodies and remains all the
time, there are also jobs working in labs cataloging and dating remains.
Someone I consider to be a pioneer is Kari Bruwelheide, because her research has a
focus on forensic examination of modern and historic remains including skeletal studies of 17th
and 18th-century American colonists, free and enslaved people of African descent in America,
19th-century iron coffin burials, and Civil War military remains. Kari Bulwelheide works at the
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.