Forensic Anthropology Training Manual

Dawn M. Mulhern is a practicing biological anthropologist with expertise in forensic anthropology, skeletal biology, paleopathology, and bioarchaeology. She is a professor at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado where she has taught since 2005; she currently holds the position of Associate Provost. She regularly consults with local, state, tribal, and federal agencies in cases involving skeletal remains. Dr. Mulhern has served as chair of the education subcommittee for the Humanitarian and Human Rights Resource Center of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences since 2015. She worked at the Repatriation Osteology Laboratory at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution from 1998 to 2005. Her publications include book chapters and journal articles on distinguishing human and nonhuman bone and age estimation methods. She has been a member of the federal Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team (DMORT) since 1999 and was deployed in 2001 to Shanksville, Pennsylvania and in 2002 to New York following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.Karen Ramey Burns was a renowned forensic anthropologist, educator, writer, and human rights advocate whose impactful career left a lasting legacy. She taught at the University of Georgia, as well the U.S. Department of Justice’s International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP). She testified as an expert witness in numerous local, state, and international cases. She documented war crimes in Iraq (1991) and testified in Haiti’s Raboteau Trial (2000). She authored the United Nations’ “Protocol for Disinterment and Analysis of Skeletal Remains” (1991), a significant contribution to human rights investigations. She worked with the National Disaster Medical System during emergencies, including Hurricane Katrina (2005) and the 9/11 attacks. She contributed to historic research, such as identifying Casimir Pulaski and investigating Amelia Earhart’s disappearance. At the time of her passing, she was Director of Field Investigations for EQUITAS, the Colombian Interdisciplinary Team for Forensic Work and Psychosocial Assistance, Bogotá, Colombia.

• 1. Introduction2. Bone Biology3. The Skull and Hyoid4. The Shoulder Girdle and Thorax: Clavicle, Scapula, Ribs, and Sternum5. The Vertebral Column6. The Upper Limb: Humerus, Radius, and Ulna7. The Hand: Carpals, Metacarpals, and Phalanges8. The Pelvic Girdle: Ilium, Ischium, and Pubis9. The Lower Limb: Femur, Tibia, Fibula, and Patella10. The Foot: Tarsals, Metatarsals, and Phalanges11. Odontology (Teeth)12. Distinguishing Human and Nonhuman Bone13. Field Methods14. Forensic Taphonomy and Postmortem Interval15. Laboratory Analysis I: Preparation and Inventory16. Laboratory Analysis II: Biological Profile17. Laboratory Analysis III: Trauma, Disease, and Individual Identification18. Professional Results19. Large-Scale ApplicationsAppendix A: CraniometryAppendix B: Forms and DiagramsGlossary of TermsBibliography