Forensic Anthropology: An overview of the various avenues in human identification

Abstract

Human identification is one of the most crucial aspects of Forensic Anthropology. It is a vital function that Forensic Medicine experts and Forensic Anthropologists perform. Human identification involves application of the science of human anatomy, osteology, and anthropology.1 Identification is required in both the living and the dead, and in civil as well as criminal cases. In the living, human identification is done in cases of war refugees, asylum seekers, victims of solicitation and trafficking, etc. while in the dead, it is done in cases of skeletal remains, putrefied bodies, and charred and dismembered human remains.2