Forensic Anthropology

Lab at the National Museum of Natural History.
Image courtesy: Smithsonian Institution

Human remains record sex, age, height, and clues to ancestry. A scientist who uses the "keys" in human bones and teeth is a forensic anthropologist. The word forensic refers to applying science to legal or criminal matters, but forensic anthropologists may investigate modern or ancient human remains to solve mysteries.

Forensic Anthropology
at the Smithsonian

Forensic
Facial Reconstructions

Becoming a Forensic Anthropologist

Try your hand at a modern forensic case.