The Body-as-Evidence Paradigm in Domestic and International Forensic Anthropology

Abstract

Bioarchaeology and forensic anthropology share key aspects of training and practice. Both fields, for example, study and interpret evidence of violence, sometimes directly contradicting politically charged interpretations. Forensic anthropology has, however, achieved more visibility among nonspecialists. Media prominence has significant ramifications, however, as public perceptions are frequently distorted, raising unrealistic expectations of scientific deliverables, especially in mass grave investigations. Perhaps at the core of the problem is that potential jurors and families of victims embrace a body-as-evidence paradigm—the notion that physical evidence obtained from the deceased is static, unperturbed, infallible, and unopposable. Physical evidence, including that of skeletons, is best understood within particular contexts such that the interpretations are dynamic, flexible, and falsifiable. Popular books and television shows (and sometimes forensic scientists themselves) replace the messy gray parts of forensic science (or any science) with broad brushes of black and white. This causes frustration for forensic anthropologists who often face confidentiality and legal issues that may limit them from directly communicating with the public whenever interest is peaked. This chapter examines the impact of the body-as-evidence paradigm in both domestic and international contexts and encourages forensic anthropologists to speak out on the gray parts of the science.