The Assessment of Ancestry and the Concept of Race

Abstract

Physical anthropologists have long been interested in the biological relationships of past and present populations. In bioarchaeology, establishing biological affinity elucidates crucial historical processes, including migration patterns. Methods also exist for estimating population affinity of individual specimens-a process that is often useful in forensic anthropology. The assessment of ancestry, like the estimation of age, sex, and stature, is typically an expected component of a biological profile provided to law enforcement by a forensic anthropologist. Unlike sex, age, and stature, however, ancestry estimation is fraught with misunderstanding, misuse, and controversy. Underlying any discussion of the assessment of ancestry and its value to forensic anthropology is the concept of race. In this chapter we discuss the relationship between race and ancestry estimation in forensic anthropology, discuss the methods developed by anthropologists to determine ancestry, and address some relevant philosophical and ethical issues.