The Development of Professional Standards in Forensic Anthropology

Over the past 50 years, forensic anthropology has grown and matured into a specialized discipline within anthropology. Because of the potential legal ramifications of conducting casework, it is imperative that forensic anthropology practitioners are aware of their role within the medicolegal system, have received the proper education, mentorship, training, and certification within the discipline, and adhere to published national forensic anthropology standards and best practices. In this paper, we outline the development of professional standards in forensic anthropology in the United States. We review the key milestones in the professionalization of forensic anthropology as a discipline, including its development within the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) and the implementation of board certification of practitioners by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology. We next discuss the key organizations involved in the drafting of forensic anthropology standards, including the pioneering efforts of the Scientific Working Group for Forensic Anthropology and the current work of the National Institute of Standards and Technology-administered Organization of Scientific Area Committees for Forensic Science (OSAC). We then discuss the critical role of the AAFS's Academy Standards Board, the standards development organization chosen by the OSAC Forensic Anthropology Subcommittee, which is responsible for further developing and publishing consensus-based national standards and best practices. The development of national standards for forensic anthropology has contributed to the professionalization of the discipline so that practitioners are ideally meeting minimum requirements to improve the reliability, consistency, and transparency of forensic anthropology casework.