Karen Ramey Burns 
Forensic Anthropology Training Manual [PDF ebook] 

Provides basic information on successfully collecting, processing, analyzing, and describing skeletal human remains.

Forensic Anthropology Training Manual serves as a practical reference tool and a framework for training in forensic anthropology.

The first chapter informs judges, attorneys, law enforcement personnel, and international workers of the information and services available from a professional forensic anthropologist. The first section (Chapters 2-11) is a training guide to assist in the study of human skeletal anatomy. The second section (Chapters 12-17) focuses on the specific work of the forensic anthropologist, beginning with an introduction to the forensic sciences.

Learning Goals

• Upon completing this book readers will be able to:


• Have a strong foundation in human skeletal anatomy


• Explain how this knowledge contributes to the physical description and personal identification of human remains


• Understand the basics of excavating a grave, preparing a forensic report, and presenting expert witness


• testimony in a court of law


• Define forensic anthropology within the broader context of the forensic sciences


• Describe the work of today’s forensic anthropologists