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Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
Forensic anthropologist carefully removes dirt from skull in grave

Written in Bone

Forensic Anthropology

At the Museum

For over a century physical anthropologists in the Smithsonian's Department of Anthropology have assisted law enforcement agencies and medical examiners in the retrieval, evaluation, and analysis of human remains in order to identify victims and solve crimes.

Forensic Anthropology Insights

Forensic Facial Reconstruction
Becoming a Forensic Anthropologist
Skeletal Research Collections

Take a 3D Tour of a Colonial Jamestown Site

 

Video: Meet the Smithsonian's Bone Detectives

These are some of the tools forensic anthropologists at the National Museum of Natural History use to analyze human bones. What do the bones reveal about the individuals they belonged to? Video courtesy of the History Channel.

Video Transcript – Meet the Smithsonian's Bone Detectives (PDF)