Supply and demand: The shifting expectations of forensic anthropology in the United Kingdom

Forensic anthropology is a relatively young discipline in the United Kingdom. Practitioners utilise techniques devised and adapted within the field of biological anthropology and attempt to contribute towards the identification of deceased individuals within the forensic context. Traditionally this means the examination of the human skeleton in an attempt to either create biological boundaries of the deceased thus reducing the number of potential identifications, or to compare the remains with ante-mortem records to positively identify the deceased. Usually an osteological profile is generated containing estimates of biological sex, age at death and stature and information on pathologies and traumas. Current diversification and pioneering research within the field of forensic anthropology now means that forensic anthropologists can contribute towards the idenification of living individuals with the use of such methods as facial rcognition, ear mark identification and DNA analysis. In the UK its origins lie mainly in the field of archaeology.