Page 84 - Veritas Vol 3, Issue 2

71

UNRAVELLING

MYSTERIES

THROUGH BONES

THE APPLICATION

OF FORENSIC

ANTHROPOLOGY IN

MASS DISASTERS

AND COLD CASES

Forensic anthropology, a specialised department of Scientific studies, has
emerged as a pivotal discipline in the investigation of mass disasters and cold

cases involving missing or misidentified human remains. The discipline of
forensic anthropology is essential to disaster relief efforts because it offers

expertise and tools that boost the precision and efficacy of techniques used to
identify victims of large-scale casualties. Generally speaking, a mass disaster is

defined as an incident (air, marine, railway, or motorway accident, flooding,
earthquake, etc.) that leaves a huge number of victims that require

identification and medical-legal inquiry. The victim's remains obtained from a

mass disaster will be in a dreadful condition often burned or dismembered.
Forensic anthropologists have been using their knowledge of disaster victim
identification (DVI) for more than a century. However, in recent years, several

catastrophic incidents have led to an increased role for forensic anthropologists

in these investigations the objectives are to support human remains identificatio

VERITAS VOLUME: 3, ISSUE: 2 WRITER: SASHA VASSULA FERNANDES