Introduction to Forensic Anthropology
ASM 275, Section 6146, Glendale Community College, Spring 2008
Instructor: Dr. P. James Macaluso
Email: paul.macaluso@gcmail.maricopa.edu
Phone: 480-731-8866, Mailbox #14118
Office Hours: By appointment
Class Location: HU-101
Class Time: Tuesday & Thursday 5:45-7:00 pm
Catalogue Description: Survey the role of forensic anthropologist, from the crime scene to the
courtroom. Understand how a forensic anthropologist can determine life history of an individual.
Contributions of forensic anthropology to crime scene and other legal investigations. How forensic
anthropology is used to decipher historic cases, and how it is depicted in popular culture. Case
studies involving criminal investigations, mass disaster incidents, and global human rights issues.
Course Objectives: This course provides a broad overview of forensic anthropology, an applied field
of biological anthropology that seeks to recover, identify, and evaluate human skeletal remains within
a medico-legal context. In this course, students will learn: to identify the bones of the human skeleton;
recovery techniques and initial treatment of forensic material; the techniques used by forensic
anthropologists to determine age at death, sex, ancestry, and stature from the human skeleton; how
pathological and occupational markers can help identify skeletal remains; and how forensic
anthropologists estimate time since death and interpret blunt, sharp, and gunshot trauma to bone.
Finally, students will become familiar with the application of forensic anthropology to human rights
missions, military identifications, and mass fatalities. This course will not make students competent to
carry out forensic anthropological investigations themselves, but rather will help students develop an
informal appreciation for, and basic familiarity with, the field of forensic anthropology. The course
competencies may be found at: http://www.dist. maricopa.edu/cgi-bin/cpr.pl?trm=20076&crs=asm
275&inst=99#comp.
Required Text: The following book has been assigned for this course and is available for purchase at
the College Bookstore.
•Steadman, D.W. (2003). Hard Evidence: Case Studies in Forensic Anthropology. Upper Saddle River,
New Jersey: Prentice Hall. ISBN: 0-13-030567-7.
Reserve Materials: These books are available for reference at the library reserve desk (2-hour loan).
•Ubelaker, D.H. (1989). Human Skeletal Remains: Excavation, Analysis, Interpretation; 2nd Edition.
Washington, DC: Taraxacum. ISBN: 0960282254.
•Whitehead, P.F.; Sacco, W.K.; Hochgraf, S.B. (2005). A Photographic Atlas for Physical Anthropology.
Morton Publishing, ISBN-13: 9780895825728.
•White, T.D. (2000). Human Osteology, 2nd Edition. San Diego: Academic Press. ISBN: 0127466126.
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Course Format: Class meetings will consist primarily of instructor lectures; however, several class
periods will incorporate laboratory sessions, as well as videos. Each student is responsible for
completing the assigned readings before the scheduled class in order to more effectively understand
the lecture material and to participate in any class discussions. Students are also encouraged to bring
in relevant news articles and information from the Internet, newspapers, and popular magazines for
class discussion. Time will be made available to do so if the instructor is notified prior to class.
Attendance: Attendance will be taken each class according to GCC policy. Although attendance is not
technically mandatory, absence does have consequences. Instruction will include some textbook
content, but all lectures will include material not found in the course reader. Thus, missing lecture
will make it considerably more difficult for you to perform well on exams. If a student misses a class
meeting it is his or her responsibility to get lecture notes from a classmate; I do not repeat lectures or
loan out my notes. You may also miss one of the lab sessions when you are absent from class. It is not
possible to make up some missed class work such as videos and the laboratory assignment.
Therefore, attendance is strongly recommended for the successful completion of the course. Students
are also encouraged to utilize the additional resources provided throughout the course, such as
optional readings placed on reserve at the library and relevant web pages listed at the end of some
lectures.
Human Osteology Quiz: Because it is important for students of forensic anthropology to have a
working knowledge of the human skeleton, two class periods will be spent learning about human
bones. This will include both a lecture and lab component. Students will then take a quiz, worth 25
points, to display their knowledge of the human skeleton. The quiz may include multiple-choice,
matching, fill-in, and short answer questions. There also may be some identification of human bone,
either from pictures or skeletal material. Please make a note of the date and time of the osteology
quiz. There are no make-ups for the osteology quiz.
Exams: There will be two examinations in this course, worth 125 points each. Exams will not be
cumulative, but the second exam may cover some relevant material from the first part of the course.
Exams cover all material presented in lectures, slides, videos, laboratory demonstrations, and course
readings, and may include multiple-choice, true-false, matching, fill-in, short identification, and essay
questions.
Make-up exams are not allowed except in the case of extreme emergence or illness. Supporting
documentation for such absences is strongly encouraged. Students must contact me the day of the test
(or before) if they are to miss an exam. If they do not contact me that day, they will lose 10 points for
each day they wait. Make-up exams are at my discretion and may be in a completely different format
than that given in class. No student may take more than one make-up exam in the course. To allow
any other policy is simple not fair to the great majority of students who do take the exams at the
scheduled time.
Skeletal Identification Laboratory Assignment: Each student will participate in a lab session held
during two class periods that will demonstrate some of the techniques used by forensic
anthropologists to estimate age at death, sex, ancestry, and stature of unidentified human skeletal
remains. Each student will also complete a short assignment, worth 25 points, based on skeletal
material presented in the lab session. There are no make-ups for the lab assignment.
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Forensic Anthropology Investigation Report: Each student will also be required to submit a 3-4 page
report, worth 75 points, highlighting the circumstances, background, specific methods used, and
results of a particular forensic anthropology investigation. Possible case studies to research and
formatting instructions will be discussed in class at a later date. Please make a note of the due date.
No late reports will be accepted.
Grading: Osteology Quiz grade + Skeletal Identification grade + Exam I grade + Exam II grade +
Forensic Report = Total Points. “A” = 375-337, “B” = 336-300, “C” = 299-262, “D” = 261-225, “F” =
below 225.
Extra Credit: I may ask an extra credit question on a quiz or exam, but no other extra credit such as
additional papers will be given.
Academic Integrity: Under no circumstances will cheating be tolerated. If cheating is detected at any
time during examinations or while grading, all participants will receive a failing grade in the course.
You are advised to consult the current SCC Student Handbook for any questions that you may have
concerning academic misconduct.
Class Conduct: I appreciate punctuality and tardiness is strongly discouraged. Cell phones, PDAs,
and iPods must be turned off prior to the start of class; this also means no text messaging. Please do
not make private comments or carry on private conversations during class, as this is distracting to me
and other students in the course. If you have a question or comment, please direct it to me. Also,
please do not start packing up your belongings until I have finished lecturing; it makes significant
noise and is distracting to me and to other students who are trying to hear what I have to say.
Special Accommodations: If you have a disability that may have some impact on your work in this
class and for which you may require accommodations, please notify both me and the Disability
Services and Resources Office located in TDS-100 (623-845-3080) as early as possible in the semester.
Tentative Course Outline and Reading Schedule: Dates and topics are tentative and subject to
change depending on the pace or needs of the class. Students are responsible for any changes in the
syllabus that are announced in class whether the student is present or not.
Dates
Lecture Topics
1/15
1/17
1/22
1/24
1/29
1/31
2/5
2/7
2/12
2/14
2/19
2/21
2/26
2/28
3/4
3/6
Introduction to the Course
History of Forensic Anthropology
Human Osteology and Odontology (lecture)
Human Osteology and Odontology (lab)
Establishing the Forensic Context
Ethical & Legal Considerations
Human Osteology Quiz
Recovery Scene Methods
Estimating Time Since Death
Film: Body Detectives, Forensic Anthropology at the Body Farm (2000)
Assessing Ancestry
Determination of Sex
Estimation of Age at Death
Calculation of Stature
Skeletal Identification Laboratory
Skeletal Identification Laboratory; Exam review
Readings
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Section I introduction pp.
23-29; Chapter 3
Chapters 1 and 4
Chapters 6, 16 and 18
Section II introduction pp.
87-96; Chapters 7 and 9
Section III introduction pp.
127-137; Chapter 12
Chapters 1 and 2
Chapters 1 and 13
3/11
3/13
3/18
3/20
3/25
3/27
4/1
4/3
4/8
4/10
4/15
4/17
4/22
4/24
4/29
5/1
5/6
Spring Break: No Class
Spring Break: No Class
Midterm Exam
Antemortem Skeletal Conditions
Identification Methods
Film: Anastasia, Dead or Alive? (1995)
Overview of Skeletal Trauma
Blunt Force Trauma
Projectile Trauma
Sharp & Miscellaneous Trauma
Postmortem Changes to Bone
Film: The Great Inca Rebellion (2007)
Mass Fatalities; Forensic Reports Due
Military Identifications; Human Rights Investigations
Film: Following Antigone, F.A. & Human Rights Investigations (2002)
Exam review; Course evaluations
Final Exam (5/6, 5:45-7:00pm)
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Chapter 5
Section IV introduction pp.
197-204; Chapters 15 and 17
Chapters 10 and 11
Chapters 10 and 14
Chapter 13
Section V introduction pp.
245-255; Chapters 19-21
Chapter 22
Syllabus Acknowledgement
ASM 275: Introduction to Forensic Anthropology
Glendale Community College, Spring 2008
I acknowledge by signing below that I have received the syllabus for the course indicated above. I
have reviewed the syllabus and understand the objectives of this course. I understand the policies and
procedures set forth in the syllabus are the terms and conditions under which I am taking this class
and that no exceptions will be made. Furthermore, I understand how my performance will be
evaluated and how my final grade will be determined. I recognize that success in this course is
directly related to my attendance, completing assignments on time, and adequate study and
preparation time. I am also aware of my instructor’s office hours, and I know how to contact him for
help with and/or clarification of course content and procedures. I understand that should I stop
attending class, I must officially withdraw from the course through the Registrar’s Office and that if I
fail to officially withdraw from the course, the Registrar’s Office may record a grade of an “F” for this
course on my official transcript.
Student Signature: ______________________________
Date: __________________________
Print Name: _____________________________________
Phone Number: _________________
Email Address: __________________________________
Providing your phone number and email address will make it easier if I have to contact you later in
the semester.
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