Analysis of Forensic Anthropology Cases Submitted to the Smithsonian Institution by the Federal Bureau of Investigation from 1962 to 1994

Abstract

For more than 50 years, the Smithsonian Institution has provided scientific expertise in the analysis of forensic anthropology cases submitted to the Institution by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Washington, D.C. This study presents an analysis of the cases submitted from 1962 to 1994 and reported on by two Smithsonian scientists, J. Lawrence Angel and Douglas H. Ubelaker.<br/>Analysis revealed wide variation in the types of cases submitted. In addition, the rate of submission varied throughout this period, with the highest rate occurring in the late 1970s. The FBI submissions originated most commonly from western and southern regions of the United States and reflected original discoveries frequently in the months of May and November.<br/>The total sample included all major categories of ancestry, sex, and age, but the overall pattern deviated significantly from national homicide statistics. Statistics on taphonomical alterations, trauma, the area of the body associated with trauma, and problems of positive identifications in the FBI sample are discussed.<br/>Finally, temporal changes in report writing and information collected are discussed. These differences appear to reflect not only stylistic preferences of the two scientists involved, but also the academic growth of forensic anthropology. The patterns of change detected in the FBI sample relate to the more general expansion of forensic anthropology and the growing numbers of anthropologists involved in this application of physical anthropology.