Forensic Anthropology Subcommittee

The Forensic Anthropology Subcommittee focuses on standards and guidelines related to application of anthropological methods and theory, particularly those relating to the recovery and analysis of human remains.

Officers | Members | Standards | Other Work Products

Officers

Wendy McQuade, Ph.D., Subcommittee Chair, University of North Texas Center for Human Identification

Eric Bartelink, Subcommittee Vice Chair, California State University, Chico

Vacant, Subcommittee Executive Secretary

Members

Standards

Published by a Standards Developing Organization (SDO)

• ANSI/ASB Standard 045, Standard for Stature Estimation in Forensic Anthropology, First Edition, 2019.

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  ANSI/ASB Best Practice Recommendation 089, Best Practice Recommendation for Facial Approximation in Forensic Anthropology, First Edition, 2020.

  • published standard on the osac registry (added september 7, 2021).

• ANSI/ASB Standard 090, Standard for Sex Estimation in Forensic Anthropology, First Edition, 2019. 
• ANSI/ASB Standard 134, Standard for Analyzing Pathological Conditions and Anomalies in Forensic Anthropology, First Edition, 2021.
• ANSI/ASB Standard 146, Standard for Resolving Commingled Remains in Forensic Anthropology, First Edition, 2021.
• ANSI/ASB Standard 149, Standard for Taphonomic Observations in Support of the Postmortem Interval, First Edition, 2022.
• ANSI/ASB Standard 150, Standard for Determination of Medicolegal Significance from Skeletal Remains in Forensic Anthropology, First Edition, 2021. 

Sent to an SDO

• Standard for Population Affinity in Estimation in Forensic Anthropology.
• Standard for Age Estimation in Forensic Anthropology.
• Scene Detection and Processing in Forensic Anthropology.
• Standard for Analyzing and Reporting on Skeletal Trauma in Forensic Anthropology.
• Standard for Personal Identification in Forensic Anthropology.

Under Development

• OSAC 2021-N-0010, Best Practice Recommendations for Skeletal Preparation and Sampling in Forensic Anthropology.
• Standard for Documentation and Reporting.
• Standard for a Quality Assurance Program in Forensic Anthropology.
• Standard for Research on Recent Human Remains.
• Standard for Isotopic Analysis of Human Remains.
• Standard for Proficiency Testing in Forensic Anthropology.

Other Work Products

Research & Development Needs

• See the research and development needs identified by the Forensic Anthropology Subcommittee.

Discipline-Specific Bibliographies and Bibliographic References 

These documents may contain information to help forensic scientists, judges, lawyers, researchers, and other readers better understand the nature, scope, and foundations of the individual disciplines as currently practiced. The identification of these documents does not represent an endorsement by OSAC or NIST. Only standards that are posted on the OSAC Registry and Technical Guidance documents, are endorsed by OSAC. The referenced documents may be subject to copyright. Note: Subcommittee position statements or responses to data collections by the subcommittee do not necessarily represent the position of OSAC or NIST.

* The documents below originated from the former FBI/DoD sponsored SWGANTH working group. The website SWGANTH.org as of November 13, 2018 is not affiliated with the former FBI/DoD sponsored group of the same name.

• SWGANTH Age Estimation
• SWGANTH Ancestry Assessment
• SWGANTH Bylaws
• SWGANTH Code of Ethics and Conduct
• SWGANTH Determination of Medicolegal Significance
• SWGANTH Documentation, Reporting and Testimony
• SWGANTH Education and Training
• SWGANTH Facial Approximation
• SWGANTH Identifying and Describing Pathological Conditions
• SWGANTH Laboratory Management and Quality Assurance
• SWGANTH Personal Identification
• SWGANTH Proficiency Testing
• SWGANTH Qualifications
• SWGANTH Resolving Commingled Human Remains
• SWGANTH Scene Detection and Processing
• SWGANTH Sex Assessment
• SWGANTH Skeletal Sampling and Preparation
• SWGANTH Statistical Methods
• SWGANTH Stature Estimation
• SWGANTH Taphonomic Observations
• SWGANTH Trauma