Forensic Anthropology is a science that studies all the characteristics of the human being useful in identification. From the study of the somatic traits to the characteristics of the bone tissue, there are many anatomical elements that can form information on age, gender, geographical origin and even type of activity carried out in life. Forensic Anthropology is able to contribute to the reconstruction of the identity of unnamed human remains in many ways. One of these is for example the facial reconstruction which is based on the morphological variations of the skull to return a face to unknown skeletal remains.
Each bone can rebuild an extra piece that leads to identification, like in a puzzle. From the bones of the feet to the shape of the orbital bones, which house the eyeballs, you have a treasure trove of coded information that the Forensic Anthropologist can decipher.
Speaking of skeletal remains, it is possible to decipher an identikit that is very close to the individual in the studio. The stature can be reconstructed from the length of the arms and legs. Also from these we can collect information on the lifestyle of the person in question and identify the dominant hand. Age can be defined from the bones of the pelvis, the male gender from the female gender and in the latter case the number of natural parts can often be understood.
Knowing Forensic Anthropology means knowing how to decipher all the information that can be extrapolated from the human being to reconstruct its identity.
In addition to the study of unidentified human remains, this science also studies the physiognomic characteristics related to the living. This type of study has different applications such as the identification of individuals filmed by video surveillance in the event of robberies or other crimes. Another example of application of Forensic Anthropology to the study of the living is the age progression aimed at finding missing persons.