Forensic science
Physiological sciences
Forensic anthropology Forensic archaeology Forensic odontology Forensic entomology Forensic pathology Forensic botany Forensic biology DNA profiling Bloodstain pattern analysis Forensic chemistry Forensic osteology
Social sciences
Forensic psychology Forensic psychiatry
Forensic criminalistics
Ballistics Ballistic fingerprinting Body identification Fingerprint analysis Forensic accounting Forensic arts Forensic footwear evidence Forensic toxicology Gloveprint analysis Questioned document examination Vein matching
Digital forensics
Computer forensics Database forensics Mobile device forensics Network forensics Forensic video Forensic audio
Related disciplines
Fire investigation Detection of fire accelerants Forensic engineering Forensic linguistics Forensic materials engineering Forensic polymer engineering Vehicular accident reconstruction
People
William M. Bass George W. Gill Richard Jantz Edmond Locard Douglas W. Owsley Auguste Ambroise Tardieu Juan Vucetich
Related articles
Crime scene CSI effect Perry Mason syndrome Pollen calendar Skid mark Trace evidence Use of DNA in forensic entomology
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Forensic science (often shortened to forensics) is the application of a broad spectrum of sciences to answer questions of interest to a legal system. This may be in relation to a crime or a civil action. The word forensic comes from the Latin forēnsis, meaning "of or before the forum."^[1] In Roman times, a criminal charge meant presenting the case before a group of public individuals in the forum. Both the person accused of the crime and the accuser would give speeches based on their sides of the story. The individual with the best argument and delivery would determine the outcome of the case. This origin is the source of the two modern usages of the word forensic – as a form of legal evidence and as a category of public presentation.

In modern use, the term "forensics" in the place of "forensic science" can be considered correct as the term "forensic" is effectively a synonym for "legal" or "related to courts". However the term is now so closely associated with the scientific field that many dictionaries include the meaning that equates the word "forensics" with "forensic science".

History[link]

Antiquity and the Middle Age[link]

The ancient world lacked standardized forensic practices, which aided criminals in escaping punishment. Criminal investigations and trials relied on forced confessions and witness testimony. However ancient sources contain several accounts of techniques that foreshadow the concepts of forensic science that is developed centuries later, such as the "Eureka" legend told of Archimedes (287–212 BC).^[2] The account about Archimedes tells of how he invented a method for determining the volume of an object with an irregular shape. According to Vitruvius, a votive crown for a temple had been made for King Hiero II, who had supplied the pure gold to be used, and Archimedes was asked to determine whether some silver had been substituted by the dishonest goldsmith.^[3] Archimedes had to solve the problem without damaging the crown, so he could not melt it down into a regularly shaped body in order to calculate its density.

The first written account of using medicine and entomology to solve (separate) criminal cases is attributed to the book of Xi Yuan Lu (translated as "Washing Away of Wrongs"^[4][5]), written in Song Dynasty China by Song Ci (宋慈, 1186–1249) in 1248. In one of the accounts, the case of a person murdered with a sickle was solved by a death investigator who instructed everyone to bring his sickle to one location. (He realized it was a sickle by testing various blades on an animal carcass and comparing the wound.) Flies, attracted by the smell of blood, eventually gathered on a single sickle. In light of this, the murderer confessed. The book also offered advice on how to distinguish between a drowning (water in the lungs) and strangulation (broken neck cartilage), along with other evidence from examining corpses on determining if a death was caused by murder, suicide or an accident.

Modern history[link]

In the 16th-century Europe medical practitioners in army and university settings began to gather information on cause and manner of death. Ambroise Paré, a French army surgeon, systematically studied the effects of violent death on internal organs. Two Italian surgeons, Fortunato Fidelis and Paolo Zacchia, laid the foundation of modern pathology by studying changes that occurred in the structure of the body as the result of disease. In the late 18th century, writings on these topics began to appear. These included A Treatise on Forensic Medicine and Public Health by the French physician Fodéré and The Complete System of Police Medicine by the German medical expert Johann Peter Franck.

In 1773 a Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele devised a way of detecting arsenous oxide, simple arsenic, in corpses, although only in large quantities. This investigation was expanded, in 1806, by German chemist Valentin Ross, who learned to detect the poison in the walls of a victim's stomach, and by English chemist James Marsh, who used chemical processes to confirm arsenic as the cause of death in an 1836 murder trial.

Two early examples of English forensic science in individual legal proceedings demonstrate the increasing use of logic and procedure in criminal investigations. In 1784, in Lancaster, John Toms was tried and convicted for murdering Edward Culshaw with a pistol. When the dead body of Culshaw was examined, a pistol wad (crushed paper used to secure powder and balls in the muzzle) found in his head wound matched perfectly with a torn newspaper found in Toms' pocket. In Warwick in 1816, a farm labourer was tried and convicted of the murder of a young maidservant. She had been drowned in a shallow pool and bore the marks of violent assault. The police found footprints and an impression from corduroy cloth with a sewn patch in the damp earth near the pool. There were also scattered grains of wheat and chaff. The breeches of a farm labourer who had been threshing wheat nearby were examined and corresponded exactly to the impression in the earth near the pool.^[6] Police started using fingerprints for evidence when Juan Vucetich solved a murder case in Argentina by cutting off a piece of door with a bloody fingerprint on it.^[7] Later in the 20th century several British pathologists, Bernard Spilsbury, Francis Camps, Sydney Smith and Keith Simpson pioneered new forensic science methods in Britain. In 1909 Rodolphe Archibald Reiss founded the first school of forensic science in the world: the "Institut de police scientifique" at the University of Lausanne (UNIL).

Forensic science has been fostered by a number of national forensic science learned bodies including the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (founded 1948; publishers of the Journal of Forensic Sciences), the Canadian Society of Forensic Science (founded 1953; publishers of the Journal of the Canadian Society of Forensic Science), The British Academy of Forensic Sciences (founded 1960; publishers of Medicine,science and the law (journal)), and the Australian Academy of Forensic Sciences (founded 1967; publishers of the Australian Journal of Forensic Sciences).

A history of forensic photography can be viewed here.

Subdivisions[link]

Agents of the United States Army Criminal Investigation Division investigate a crime scene

Police forensic investigation in Ashton-under-Lyne, England, using a tent to protect the crime scene

• Computational forensics concerns the development of algorithms and software to assist forensic examination.
• Criminalistics is the application of various sciences to answer questions relating to examination and comparison of biological evidence, trace evidence, impression evidence (such as fingerprints, footwear impressions, and tire tracks), controlled substances, ballistics, firearm and toolmark examination, and other evidence in criminal investigations. In typical circumstances evidence is processed in a Crime lab.
• Digital forensics is the application of proven scientific methods and techniques in order to recover data from electronic / digital media. Digital Forensic specialists work in the field as well as in the lab.
• Forensic accounting is the study and interpretation of accounting evidence
• Forensic aerial photography is the study and interpretation of aerial photographic evidence
• Forensic anthropology is the application of physical anthropology in a legal setting, usually for the recovery and identification of skeletonized human remains.
• Forensic archaeology is the application of a combination of archaeological techniques and forensic science, typically in law enforcement.
• Forensic astronomy uses methods from astronomy to determine past celestial constellations for forensic purposes.
• Forensic botany is the study of plant life in order to gain information regarding possible crimes.
• Forensic chemistry is the study of detection and identification of illicit drugs, accelerants used in arson cases, explosive and gunshot residue.
• Forensic dactyloscopy is the study of fingerprints.
• Forensic document examination or questioned document examination answers questions about a disputed document using a variety of scientific processes and methods. Many examinations involve a comparison of the questioned document, or components of the document, with a set of known standards. The most common type of examination involves handwriting, whereby the examiner tries to address concerns about potential authorship.
• Forensic DNA analysis takes advantage of the uniqueness of an individual's DNA to answer forensic questions such as paternity/maternity testing and placing a suspect at a crime scene, e.g. in a rape investigation.
• Forensic engineering is the scientific examination and analysis of structures and products relating to their failure or cause of damage.
• Forensic entomology deals with the examination of insects in, on and around human remains to assist in determination of time or location of death. It is also possible to determine if the body was moved after death.
• Forensic geology deals with trace evidence in the form of soils, minerals and petroleum.
• Forensic geophysics is the application of geophysical techniques such as radar for detecting objects hidden underground or underwater.^[8]
• Forensic intelligence process starts with the collection of data and ends with the integration of results within into the analysis of crimes under investigation^[9]
• Forensic Interviews are conducted using the science of professionally using expertise to conduct a variety of investigative interviews with victims, witnesses, suspects or other sources to determine the facts regarding suspicions, allegations or specific incidents in either public or private sector settings.
• Forensic limnology is the analysis of evidence collected from crime scenes in or around fresh-water sources. Examination of biological organisms, in particular diatoms, can be useful in connecting suspects with victims.
• Forensic linguistics deals with issues in the legal system that requires linguistic expertise.
• Forensic meteorology is a site-specific analysis of past weather conditions for a point of loss.
• Forensic odontology is the study of the uniqueness of dentition, better known as the study of teeth.
• Forensic optometry is the study of glasses and other eye wear relating to crime scenes and criminal investigations
• Forensic pathology is a field in which the principles of medicine and pathology are applied to determine a cause of death or injury in the context of a legal inquiry.
• Forensic podiatry is an application of the study of feet footprint or footwear and their traces to analyze scene of crime and to establish personal identity in forensic examinations.
• Forensic psychiatry is a specialised branch of psychiatry as applied to and based on scientific criminology.
• Forensic psychology is the study of the mind of an individual, using forensic methods. Usually it determines the circumstances behind a criminal's behavior.
• Forensic seismology is the study of techniques to distinguish the seismic signals generated by underground nuclear explosions from those generated by earthquakes.
• Forensic serology is the study of the body fluids.^[10]
• Forensic toxicology is the study of the effect of drugs and poisons on/in the human body.
• Forensic video analysis is the scientific examination, comparison and evaluation of video in legal matters.
• Mobile device forensics is the scientific examination and evaluation of evidence found in mobile phones, e.g. Call History and Deleted SMS, and includes SIM Card Forensics
• Trace evidence analysis is the analysis and comparison of trace evidence including glass, paint, fibres and hair.
• Wildlife Forensic Science applies a range of scientific disciplines to legal cases involving non-human biological evidence, to solve crimes such as poaching, animal abuse, and trade in endangered species.

Notable forensic scientists[link]

Self-portrait of Alphonse Bertillon, inventor of anthropometry

• Michael Baden (1934 – )
• William M. Bass (1928 – )
• Joseph Bell (1837–1911)
• Alphonse Bertillon (1853-1914)
• Sara C. Bisel (1932–1996)
• Ellis R. Kerley (1924–1998)
• Paul L. Kirk (1902–1970)
• Clea Koff (1972 – )
• Wilton M. Krogman (1903–1987)
• Alexandre Lacassagne (1843-1924)
• Henry C. Lee (1938 – )
• Edmond Locard (1877–1966)
• William R. Maples (1937–1997)
• Albert S. Osborn (1858–1946)
• Skip Palenik (1946 - )
• Francis Camps (1905–1972)
• Keith Simpson (1907–1985)
• Clyde Snow (1928 – )
• Bernard Spilsbury (1877–1947)
• Auguste Ambroise Tardieu (1818–1879)
• Paul Uhlenhuth (1870–1957)
• Cyril Wecht (1931 – )

Questionable techniques[link]

Some forensic techniques, believed to be scientifically sound at the time they were used, have turned out later to have much less scientific merit or none.^[11] Some such techniques include:

• Comparative bullet-lead analysis was used by the FBI for over four decades, starting with the John F. Kennedy assassination in 1963. The theory was that each batch of ammunition possessed a chemical makeup so distinct that a bullet could be traced back to a particular batch or even a specific box. Internal studies and an outside study by the National Academy of Sciences found that the technique was unreliable, and the FBI abandoned the test in 2005.^[12]
• Forensic dentistry has come under fire: in at least two cases bite-mark evidence has been used to convict people of murder who were later freed by DNA evidence. A 1999 study by a member of the American Board of Forensic Odontology found a 63 percent rate of false identifications and is commonly referenced within online news stories and conspiracy websites.^[13][14] The study was based on an informal workshop during an ABFO meeting, which many members did not consider a valid scientific setting.^[15]

Litigation science[link]

Litigation science describes analysis or data developed or produced expressly for use in a trial versus those produced in the course of independent research. This distinction was made by the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals when evaluating the admissibility of experts.^[16]

This uses demonstrative evidence, which is evidence created in preparation of trial by attorneys or paralegals.

Examples in popular culture[link]

Sherlock Holmes, the fictional character created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in works produced from 1887 to 1915, used forensic science as one of his investigating methods. Conan Doyle credited the inspiration for Holmes on his teacher at the medical school of the University of Edinburgh, the gifted surgeon and forensic detective Joseph Bell. Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple books and television series were also a big hit worldwide.

Decades later the comic strip Dick Tracy also featured a detective using a considerable number of forensic methods, although sometimes the methods were more fanciful than actually possible.

Barry Allen (alter ego of The Flash) is a forensic scientist for the Central City police department.

Defence attorney Perry Mason occasionally used forensic techniques, both in the novels and television series.

One of the earliest television series to focus on the scientific analysis of evidence was Quincy, M.E. (1976–83, and based loosely on an even earlier Canadian series titled Wojeck), with the title character, a medical examiner working in Los Angeles solving crimes through careful study. The opening theme of each episode featured a clip of the title character, played by Jack Klugman, beginning a lecture to a group of police officers with "Gentlemen, you are about to enter the fascinating sphere of police work, the world of forensic medicine." Later series with similar premises include Dexter, The Mentalist, CSI, Cold Case, Bones, Law & Order, Body of Proof, NCIS, Criminal Minds, Silent Witness, Case Closed, Midsomer Murders and Waking the Dead, depict glamorized versions of the activities of 21st-century forensic scientists. Some claim these TV shows have changed individuals' expectations of forensic science, an influence termed the "CSI effect".^[17]

Non-fiction TV shows such as Forensic Files, The New Detectives, American Justice, and Dayle Hinman's Body of Evidence have also popularized forensic science.

The Ace Attorney series features forensic science, mainly in Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney and the DS-only game in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney.

Controversies[link]

Questions about forensic science, fingerprint evidence and the assumption behind these disciplines have been brought to light in some publications,^[18][19] the latest being an article in the New York Post.^[20] The article stated that "No one has proved even the basic assumption: That everyone's fingerprint is unique."^[20] The article also stated that "Now such assumptions are being questioned - and with it may come a radical change in how forensic science is used by police departments and prosecutors."^[20]

On 25 June 2009 the Supreme Court issued a 5-to-4 decision in Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts stating that crime laboratory reports may not be used against criminal defendants at trial unless the analysts responsible for creating them give testimony and subject themselves to cross-examination. The Supreme Court cited the National Academies report Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States^[21] in their decision. Writing for the majority, Justice Antonin Scalia referred to the National Research Council report in his assertion that "Forensic evidence is not uniquely immune from the risk of manipulation."

See also[link]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Bartos, Leah, "No Forensic Background? No Problem", ProPublica, April 17, 2012.
• Anil Aggrawal's Internet Journal of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology.
• Crime Science: Methods of Forensic Detection by Joe Nickell and John F. Fischer. University Press of Kentucky, 1999. ISBN 0-8131-2091-8.
• Dead Reckoning: The New Science of Catching Killers by Michael Baden, M.D, former New York City Medical Examiner, and Marion Roach. Simon & Schuster, 2001. ISBN 0-684-86758-3.
• Forensic Magazine - Forensicmag.com.
• Forensic Materials Engineering: Case Studies by Peter Rhys Lewis, Colin Gagg, Ken Reynolds. CRC Press, 2004.
• Forensic Science Communications, an open access journal of the FBI.
• Forensic sciences international - An international journal dedicated to the applications of medicine and science in the administration of justice - ISSN: 0379-0738 - Elsevier
• Guide to Information Sources in the Forensic Sciences by Cynthia Holt. Libraries Unlimited, 2006. ISBN 1-59158-221-0.
• International Journal of Digital Crime and Forensics (IJDCF)
• Owen, D. (2000) Hidden Evidence; The Story of Forensic Science and how it Helped to Solve 40 of the World's Toughest Crimes Quintet Publishing, London. ISBN 1-86155-278-5.
• Quinche, Nicolas, Crime, Science et Identité. Anthologie des textes fondateurs de la criminalistique européenne (1860–1930). Genève: Slatkine, 2006, 368p.
• Quinche, Nicolas, « Les victimes, les mobiles et le modus operandi du criminaliste suisse R.-A. Reiss. Enquête sur les stratégies discursives d’un expert du crime (1906-1922)" in Revue Suisse d’Histoire, 58, no 4, décembre 2008, pp. 426–444.
• Quinche, Nicolas, « L’ascension du criminaliste Rodolphe Archibald Reiss », in Le théâtre du crime : Rodolphe A. Reiss (1875–1929). Lausanne : Presses polytechniques et universitaires romandes, 2009, pp. 231–250.
• Quinche, Nicolas, « Sur les traces du crime : la naissance de la police scientifique et technique en Europe », in Revue internationale de criminologie et de police technique et scientifique, vol. LXII, no 2, juin 2009, pp. 8–10.
• Quinche, Nicolas, and Margot, Pierre, « Coulier, Paul-Jean (1824-1890) : A precursor in the history of fingermark detection and their potential use for identifying their source (1863) », in Journal of forensic identification (Californie), 60 (2), March–April 2010, pp. 129–134.
• Quinche, Nicolas, "Sur les traces du crime : de la naissance du regard indicial à l’institutionnalisation de la police scientifique et technique en Suisse et en France. L’essor de l’Institut de police scientifique de l’Université de Lausanne". Genève : Slatkine, 2011, 686p., (Coll. Travaux des Universités suisses), (Thèse de doctorat de l’Université de Lausanne).
• Science Against Crime by Stuart Kind and Michael Overman. Doubleday, 1972. ISBN 0-385-09249-0.
• Stanton G (2003). "Underwater Crime Scene Investigations (UCSI), a New Paradigm". In: SF Norton (ed). Diving for Science... 2003. Proceedings of the American Academy of Underwater Sciences (22nd annual Scientific Diving Symposium). http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/4762. Retrieved 2008-06-18. 
• Structure Magazine no. 40, "RepliSet: High Resolution Impressions of the Teeth of Human Ancestors" by Debbie Guatelli-Steinberg, Assistant Professor of Biological Anthropology, The Ohio State University and John C. Mitchell, Assistant Professor of Biomaterials and Biomechanics School of Dentistry, Oregon Health and Science University.
• The Internet Journal of Biological Anthropology.
• Wiley Encyclopedia of Forensic Science by Allan Jamieson and Andre Moenssens (eds). John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 2009. ISBN 978-0-470-01826-2.
• Wiley Encyclopedia of Forensic Science The online version of the Wiley Encyclopedia of Forensic Science by Allan Jamieson and Andre Moenssens (eds)
• "The Real CSI, PBS Frontline documentary, April 17, 2012.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Forensic science

• Forensic Anthropometry
• Forensic Science at the Open Directory Project
• List of Forensic Labs in the US

Arpad Alexander Vass (born August 30, 1959) is a research scientist and forensic anthropologist based at the Life Sciences Division of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. He is also adjunct associate professor of Forensic Anthropology, a program of the University of Tennessee's Law Enforcement Innovation Center located in Knoxville, Tennessee.^[2][3]

Vass is the son of a Hungarian immigrant.^[4] He grew up in Arlington, Virginia, where he graduated from Yorktown High School in 1977.^[1] He is married to Victoria Ann Longo and they have two sons.^[1]

Education & Research[link]

In 1980, Vass obtained the Antarctic Exploration certification from Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The following year, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Virginia Tech. In 1984, Vass earned a Medical Technology degree from Fairfax Hospital. He earned a Masters of Science degree in Forensic Science from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1989, and he obtained his PhD from the University of Tennessee in anthropology.^[1][2]

Vass is developing a forensic science technique called "decomposition odor analysis", or "DOA", which he claims will help to identify the over 400 body vapors which emanate from a decaying and decomposing human body. A database of such vapors would in theory enable the Federal Bureau of Investigation's search teams and cadaver dogs (Human Remains Detection dogs) to detect the location of remains of human beings.^[5] The database is a part of the University of Tennessee Anthropological Research Facility.^[6] These dogs train in the same method as narcotic dogs can sniff out graves of buried human remains.

Vass has also put forward a proposal to search out human remains with the use of a fly with a tracking chip.^[7]

Vass is developing a forensic tool to help detect and uncover forensic cases. The Forensic Anthropology Facility, located behind the UT Medical Center in Knoxville, affords scientists with bodies which have been willed to the study of forensic science and research. The molecular signature of body decomposition odor may be detected by analytical equipment or electronic body sniffer which is being researched by Vass.^[8]

Selected publications[link]

• Vass, Arpad A (November 2001). "Beyond the grave – understanding human decomposition". Microbiology Today (Spencers Wood: Society for General Microbiology) 28: pp. 190–192. ISSN 1464-0570. http://www.socgenmicrobiol.org.uk/pubs/micro_today/pdf/110108.pdf. 
• Vass, Arpad A; et al. (September 1992). "Time since death determinations of human cadavers using soil solution". Journal of Forensic Sciences 37 (5): 1236–1253. ISSN 0022-1198. PMID 1402750. 
• Vass, Arpad A; et al. (May 2002). "Decomposition chemistry of human remains: a new methodology for determining the postmortem interval". Journal of Forensic Sciences 47 (3): pp. 542–553. DOI:10.1520/JFS15294J. ISSN 0022-1198. PMID 12051334. 

See also[link]

• Forensic entomological decomposition

References[link]

External links[link]

• Curriculum Vitae for Arpad Vass
• Anthropology Dissertation of Arpad Vass

Kathleen Joan Toelle Reichs
Born	1950 (age 61–62) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. [1]
Occupation	Forensic Anthropologist Novelist Professor [1]
Nationality	American
Genres	Crime book years 1997-present
Notable work(s)	Break No Bones (2006)[1]
www.kathyreichs.com

Kathleen Joan Toelle "Kathy" Reichs ( /ˈraɪks/;^[2] born 1950) is an American crime writer, forensic anthropologist and academic .^[1] She is a professor of anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, but is currently on indefinite leave.^[3] She divides her work time between the Laboratoire des Sciences Judiciaires et de Médecine Légale for the province of Quebec and her professorship at UNC Charlotte. She is one of the eighty-eight forensic anthropologists certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology^[4] and is on the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. Her schedule also involves a number of speaking engagements around the world. Reichs has been a producer for the TV series Bones.^[1] She has two daughters, Kerry and Courtney; and one son, Brendan. ^[5]

Academic career[link]

Reichs earned her Bachelors of Arts degree with a major in anthropology from American University in 1971. In 1972, she completed her Master of Arts in physical anthropology from Northwestern University, and in 1975 she completed her Ph.D. in physical anthropology from Northwestern University. Since then, Reichs has taught at Northern Illinois University, University of Pittsburgh, Concordia University, McGill University and is currently Professor of Anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. In the past, Kathy Reichs has consulted for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in North Carolina.^[6]

Reichs has appeared in Tanzania to testify at the UN's International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.^[7] She has assisted Dr. Clyde Snow and the Foundation for Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology in an exhumation in the area of Lake Atitlan in the highlands of southwest Guatemala. She was a member of the Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team assigned to assist at the World Trade Center disaster.

Academic papers[link]

• Quantified comparison of frontal sinus patterns by means of computed tomography. Forensic Science International 1993 Oct;61(2-3):141-68.
• Effect of age and osteoarthritis on bone mineral in rhesus monkey vertebrae. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research 1993 Aug;8(8):909-17.
• Forensic anthropology in the 1990s. The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology 1992 Jun;13(2):146-53.
• Treponematosis: a possible case from the late prehistoric of North Carolina. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 1989 Jul;79(3):289-303.
• Cranial suture eccentricities: a case in which precocious closure complicated determination of sex and commingling. Journal of Forensic Science 1989 Jan;34(1):263-73.
• Ontogenetic plasticity in nonhuman primates: I. Secular trends in the Cayo Santiago macaques. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 1987 Jul;73(3):279-87.

Academic books[link]

• Forensic Osteology: Advances in the Identification of Human Remains (1986)
• Hominid Origins: Inquiries Past and Present (Editor) (1983)

Novels[link]

In addition to technical books, Reichs has written sixteen novels to date, which have been translated into 30 languages.^[8] Her first novel, Déjà Dead, won the 1997 Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel.^[9]

The fictional heroine in her novels, Temperance "Tempe" Brennan, is also a forensic anthropologist. Her lifestyle closely mimics that of her creator,^[10][11] with Reichs stating that Brennan and she "have the same CV"^[10] and that "Some of Tempe's personality traits are also mine",^[11] but there are differences in their personal lives such as the character's alcoholism.^[10] A good portion of the novels are based on real life science, and Reichs has stated that she is "fastidiously conscientious about getting the science right".^[12] She has used experience from her career in her novels, and said about Déjà Dead that "Everything I describe in the book, I actually did".^[11] In the novel Grave Secrets she uses her experience from her visit to Guatemala.^[12] She´s also written two young adult novels named Virals (2010) and Seizure (2011) centered around Tempes´ grandniece Tory Brennan and a pack of her friends Ben, Hi(ram), Shelton and wolfdog Coop(er).

Television[link]

The 2005 Fox television series Bones is inspired by Reichs' life and writing.^[13] The series borrows the name of the books' heroine, Temperance "Bones" Brennan.^[14] As in the books, Brennan (Emily Deschanel) is a forensic anthropologist, however there are many differences: the television character is younger, more socially awkward,^[14] and is based in Washington, D.C.^[14] Additionally, the TV-Brennan moonlights as an author,^[13] writing about a fictional forensic anthropologist named Kathy Reichs.^[15] Aside from the character name and occupation, there are few tie-ins between the TV show and the books.

Reichs works as a producer on the show to "keep the science honest"^[14] and has appeared in the episode "Judas on a Pole" from the second season, in which she played Professor Constance Wright, a forensic anthropologist on the board conducting Zack Addy's Thesis Defense.^[16] Additionally, she wrote the Season Five episode "The Witch in the Wardrobe".^[17]

Notes[link]

References[link]

• "Reichs, Kathy", Britannica Online Encyclopedia, 2009, webpage: EBc-KReichs.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kathy Reichs

• Official website
• Kathy Reichs at the Internet Movie Database
• Kathy Reichs on Twitter