Abstract
Documented skeletal collections are the backbone of forensic anthropology due to their associated biohistories. This paper describes the identified skeletal collections and their relevance in forensic anthropological research, education and training in the US. The establishment of documented skeletal collections in the US can be distinguished into two modus operandi, depending on the stance towards the dead, legislation, and medical and forensic practices. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, anatomists amassed skeletons from cadaver dissections, shaped by European influences. Those skeletons compose the anatomical collections—such as the Robert J. Terry Anatomical Collection—predominantly representing impoverished and unclaimed individuals. Ethical concerns for the curation and research of African American skeletons without family consent are growing in the US. In contrast, since the 1980s, modern documented skeletal collections originated from body donations to human taphonomy facilities, such as the William M. Bass Donated Skeletal Collection. The establishment and testing of osteological methods essential to establish one’s identity—such as age at death and sex—have been developed with skeletons from documented collections. Therefore, the analysis of identified skeletons has been crucial for the development of forensic anthropology in the US.
Highlights
Introduction published maps and institutional affilDocumented skeletal collections are tightly related to the development of American forensic and physical anthropology, born out of anatomy and medicine
The discipline has created a distance from the mere classificatory—and to some extent hierarchical—approach to human remains that was the focus of physical anthropology, and this distance has a strong resonance in forensic anthropology
This paper describes the origin of the documented skeletal collections, their associated ethical issues, and their importance in the development of forensic anthropological research, education, and training in the US
Summary
The development of physical anthropology in the US is associated with the establishment of documented skeletal collections and the study of skeletal variation in the 19th and early 20th centuries These anatomical collections are still employed to this day, including in forensic science. Western Reserve University, which curated the Hamann–Todd Osteological Collection This collection is housed at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. As a proxy for ancestry, was not the sole determinant of human skeleton biological variation, but environmental and social parameters would likewise affect growth and ageing [14,35,36] Cobb, after his PhD in 1932, assembled over 970 skeletons from dissections, while taking a biocultural approach on the socioeconomic influence in morbidity and mortality [14,37,38]. Collection and Cobb Human Skeletal Collection [14,23]
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