Home > Media > Books > Donna Jackson Kallner and Donna M. Jackson - The Bone Detectives: How Forensic Anthropologists Solve Crimes and Uncover Mysteries of the Dead
Donna Jackson Kallner and Donna M. Jackson - The Bone Detectives: How Forensic Anthropologists Solve Crimes and Uncover Mysteries of the Dead
Pros: Clear and straightforward, captures the readers attention,eye catching color photos.
Cons: Some writing was unnecesary
The Bottom Line: I reccomend this book to anyone who is interested in forensic science and the application of scientific knowledge to the 'real' world because its clear and draws you right in.
ashley_f_1812's Full Review: Donna Jackson Kallner and Donna M. Jackson - The B...
The Bone Detectives, written by Donna M. Jackson tells us, the readers how anthropologists use their bone reading skills to solve age old mysteries of nameless skeletons. Jackson shows us how bones do more than you think. They reveal height, sex, age, weight, and race. Bones can even share information about what a person has eaten , how many children a person had had, and what diseases one has suffered. Believe it or not, bones can even tell what occupation someone had. Forensic anthropology dates back more than 145 years ago. The job of an anthropologist is truly in-depth but Dr. Michael Charney of the Forensic Science Laboratory at Colorado State University does a remarkable job taking the reader step-by-step through this mind boggling process of revealing the person behind the bones. Most bone detectives earn a doctorate degree in physical anthropology and spend years studying human skulls and skeletons of ancient peoples. Some anthropologists teach aspiring students at universities while some share their knowledge with the world by working in museums. Others work for military organizations and some work with archaeologists. The job of an anthropologist is a long strict process that carefully follows many rules and questions that must be answered to determine the unidentified person. Who died, how they died, why they died, when and where they died are all questions an anthropologist must answer before they broadcast the identity of the skeleton. Also the bone detective must figure out if the bones are human which is surprisingly harder than one would think. Before an anthropologist begins studying the bones it first must determine if they are human bones. Many of time they are not! It is common for someone to find bones in the woods and call them in to their local police station. Even a trained professional like a police officer can mistake the bones of an animal for human especially if the bones are burned, many missing or even chewed on by other animals. The structure of many animal skeletal bones are indeed similar to that of a humans. It’s small characteristics like shape and size that set them apart. Bones are the most important piece of evidence to an anthropologist. The skull of a person can tell a detective what race and sex the unknown is. By carefully studying the structure and angles of the skull a skilled anthropologist can than make an educated guess of the race and even the sex of the person. A pelvic bone can tell the sex of a person as well. If the skeleton is in fact female, the pelvic bone can also tell how many children she had (if any.) By performing an equation using the length of a long limb bone, an anthropologist can even determine the height of the person. Depending on muscle markings a bone detective can even tell the weight of the victim. Bugs are also a useful tool for bone detectives. By examining insects found at crime scenes and tracking back to when their eggs were laid, forensic entomologists can then estimate a likely time of death. A bugs behavior is also useful to anthropologists . For example if an outdoor bugs eggs were found on a body that was indoors, this indicates that the body was most likely moved. Once a bone detective knows they are dealing with bones of a human and has decided what the age, sex, weight, height and race they are then ready for the final step, reconstruction. A latex cast of the skull is made and then pegged in the correct places of that race to show facial tissue and make the face thicker and more realistic. Tissue thickness in men an women differ and were first noted in the 19th century and later updated for accuracy. After the pegs are placed they are connected and filled in with clay. Eyes, hair , wrinkles or even scars are put into the clay after to finish it off and make it almost living. When this is finished a picture is taken and put on television or even the newspaper so the unidentified person is named and possibly the crime may be solved. As was stated previously, the job of an anthropologist is demanding and laborious but without them, countless crimes would go unsolved and families and friends would go their life without knowing what happened to their loved ones and would never be able to grieve with finality. Anthropologists are truly marvelous and I would recommend this book to anyone who is fascinated by forensics and the application of scientific knowledge to the ‘real’ world.
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