Meet the scientists!

I’m a forensic anthropologist, which, I usually say to people, is like a forensic pathologist (like Harry and Nicky on Silent Witness), but who justs deals with skeletal remains. We examine recently dead bodies and bodies that have been dead for hundreds of years, and work out what we can about who they were, how they lived, and how they died. We examine the decomposing or skeletonised remains (it can sometimes be very very smelly), and look for certain features in the pelvis or skull that can help us say whether they’re male or female. We look at developmental milestones in the growth of the skeleton, or signs of bony degeneration to determine the age they were when they died, and we can measure specific parts of their bones to tell how tall they were when they were alive. By examining the skeleton all over, we can look for signs of disease, or trauma such as fractures, that can help us say something about how they lived – for example, did they have a limp, or arthritis, or was their face marked with signs of syphilis? We can sometimes see tell-tale signs on their bones that belie how they died – for example, knife nicks in the ribs or vetebrae, or blunt force trauma on the skull.

Some forensic anthropologists, like me, also get involved with identifying the dead after a mass disaster, like a plane crash or a tsunami. Here we join a big team of scientists who examine every single victim and take detailed notes about all the features on their body we can see. If the bodies are badly damaged, we will use our expertise to determine age, sex and ethnicity from x-rays instead of the bones. We will look at identifying features such as prothestic implants like pace-makers, or tattoos too. At the same time, other teams are compiling information from the families who think they have lost people in the disaster, and building files of missing people. These files contain information about dental records, nose shape and eye colour, and scars and marks. Eventually the teams match up these details to make positive identifications and return the bodies to their families, so the families can have funerals and say goodbye properly.

There’s no typical day, which I like! I spend a lot of my time lecturing on our MSc in Forensic Archaeology and Anthropology, running osteology practicals, or marking exams and assignments. I run courses in basic osteology (bones) and anthropology, where I teach students how to determine the age, sex, height and ethnic ancestry of skeletons. I really enjoy the teaching, as it is great to see that gradually, the students put together all the little things I’ve showed them, and soon they are observing features on the bones that I haven’t even noticed!

This is me in the lab with some students

Here’s a picture of a facial reconstruction done by one of my students

I also help students with their Masters dissertation projects. These are 3 month original research projects, which I really love supervising. Mostly, the ones I supervise are to do with understanding decomposition. I have recently set up a new Forensic Fieldwork Facility, which is a bit like a mini ‘Body Farm’ like the one in the Tennessee in the USA (mine is more like a ‘Body Allotment’!), where we can bury pigs, or place them on the surface of the ground, and watch how they decompose. We have sophisticated cameras and measuring equipment that tracks the weather conditions, as decomposition is extremely dependent on temperature and environment. I have one student who is currently examining the difference in decomposition rate between babies, children and adults, so we have placed four pigs of different ages out on the soil and we are measuring how fast they decompose. Once they have completely skeletonised, we will examine the bone under a microscope and with an XRD (X-ray diffraction) machine, to see how the mineral in their bone has changed.

This is one of the pigs we are investigating

When I am not teaching, I do my own research. I am currently trying to find out why so many girls and women do Forensic Anthropology, but there aren’t that many guys. If you have any ideas about why this is, I’d love to hear them! I’m finding it fascinating to find out what inspires young people to go into the science, and I hope I can be a part of it. Blokes…the science needs you! I am also doing some research at the moment into how ‘cadaver dogs’ (special sniffer dogs who are trained to detect dead bodies after earthquakes or disasters, or in secret graves where they’ve been buried by their murderers) work. I would like to set up a special training school for cadaver dogs to test their detection rates.

In addition to this, the Police sometimes bring me some bones to examine, if they’ve been found in the woods or in someone’s garden. I can look at them, and tell the Police whether they are animal or human, and whether they are archaeological or recent. If they are human bones, I can usually say something about whether the person was male or female, how old they were when they died, and perhaps where they came from. I find it very satisfying if the Police say “Yes, that’s just like one of the missing people we have!”, and the body is finally identified.

If I was lucky enough to win, I’d put it towards setting up a Forensic Anthropology workshop for young learners. We would examine human and animal skeletons, and learn to tell the difference between them. We’d look at how forensic anthropologists determine the cause of death and the age and sex of a body. You’d also get the chance to visit the new Forensic Fieldwork Facility, where you’d investigate a “crime” and examine a real dead body (pig). It might be smelly! You’d need to be protected in real forensic crime scene suits, and take photos like a real forensic photographer. You’d learn how to describe the decomposition, and learn first hand how forensic entomologists (insect experts) determine how long a body has been dead by looking at the maggots and insects on the body.