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The Organization of Scientific Area Committees for Forensic Science

Forensic Anthropology Subcommittee

OSAC Forensic Anthropology SC icon

The Forensic Anthropology Subcommittee focuses on standards and guidelines related to application of anthropological methods and theory, particularly those relating to the recovery and analysis of human remains.

Officers | Members | Standards | Other Work Products

 

Officers

Eric Bartelink, Subcommittee Chair, California State University, Chico

Nicholas Passalacqua, Subcommittee Vice Chair, Western Carolina University

Jered Cornelison, Subcommittee Executive Secretary, WMU Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine

Members

Lesley Chesson, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Franklin Damann, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency 

Angela Dautartas, Troy University

Kristen Hartnett-McCann, Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner

Joseph Hefner, Michigan State University

Ranee Ho, Onondaga County Center for Forensic Sciences (Quality Task Group representative)

Mariyam Isa, Texas Tech University

Nicholas Klingerman, Arizona Attorney General's Office (Legal Task Group representative)

Owen Middleton, Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office

Christine Pink, Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine

Deb Pinto, Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences (HCIFS)

Chris Rainwater, Tarrant County Medical Examiner

Kelly Sauerwein, National Institute of Standards and Technology (Human Factors Task Group representative)

Tiffany Saul, Associate Professor of the Practice, Department of Anthropology Vanderbilt University

Brian Spatola, National Museum of Health and Medicine

Dawnie Steadman, University of Tennessee Knoxville

Richard Thomas, Federal Bureau of Investigation

Forensic Anthropology Affiliate List

Standards

On the OSAC Registry

  • ANSI/ASB Best Practice Recommendation 089 Best Practice Recommendation for Facial Approximation in Forensic Anthropology, 2020, 1st Ed. (added September 7, 2021)
  • ANSI/ASB Standard 134-21 Standard for Analyzing Pathological Conditions and Anomalies in Forensic Anthropology, 2021, 1st Ed. (added September 3, 2024)
  • ANSI/ASB Standard 135-23 Scene Detection and Processing in Forensic Anthropology, 2023, 1st Ed. (added September 3, 2024)
  • ANSI/ASB Standard 146-21 Standard for Resolving Commingled Remains in Forensic Anthropology, 2021, 1st Ed. (added September 3, 2024)
  • OSAC 2021-N-0010 Standard for Skeletal Preparation and Sampling in Forensic Anthropology (added November 7, 2023)

Published by a Standards Developing Organization (SDO) & Eligible for OSAC Registry Review

At an SDO for Further Development & Publication

  • ASB 149-2x ANSI/ASB Standard 149 Standard for Taphonomic Observations in Support of the Postmortem Interval, 2nd Ed.
  • ASB Best Practice Recommendation 089 Best Practice Recommendation for Facial Approximation in Forensic Anthropology, 2nd Ed.
  • ASB Best Practice Recommendation 174 Age Estimation in Forensic Anthropology
  • ASB Best Practice Recommendation 210 Best Practice Recommendation for Population Affinity Estimation
  • ASB Best Practice Recommendation 211 Best Practice Recommendation for Sex Estimation in Forensic Anthropology
  • ASB Best Practice Recommendation 212 Best Practice Recommendation for Stature Estimation in Forensic Anthropology
  • ASB Standard 045 Standard for Stature Estimation in Forensic Anthropology, 2nd Ed.
  • ASB Standard 090 Standard for Sex Estimation in Forensic Anthropology, 2nd Ed.
  • ASB Standard 217 Standard for the Ethical Treatment of Human Remains and Associated Data for Curation, Education, Research, and Training in Forensic Anthropology
  • ASB Technical Report 214 Terminology Used for Forensic Anthropology
  • OSAC 2021-N-0010 Standard for Skeletal Preparation and Sampling in Forensic Anthropology (OSAC Proposed Standard on the Registry)

Under Development

  • OSAC 2024-S-0016 Standard for Case File Management and Reporting in Forensic Anthropology
  • OSAC 2025-N-0002 Standard for Qualifications for Forensic Anthropology Practitioners
  • OSAC 2025-S-0013 Standard for a Quality Assurance Program in Forensic Anthropology
  • OSAC 2025-S-0014 Guidelines for a Quality Assurance Program in Forensic Anthropology.
  • Standard for Education and Training in Forensic Anthropology
  • Standard for Isotope Analysis
  • Standard for Isotope Sample Preparation
  • Standard for the Ethical Use of Human Remains for Research and Training

Other Work Products

Research & Development Needs

Discipline-Specific Bibliographies and Bibliographic References 

These documents may contain information to help forensic scientists, judges, lawyers, researchers, and other readers better understand the nature, scope, and foundations of the individual disciplines as currently practiced. The identification of these documents does not represent an endorsement by OSAC or NIST. Only standards that are posted on the OSAC Registry and Technical Guidance documents, are endorsed by OSAC. The referenced documents may be subject to copyright. Note: Subcommittee position statements or responses to data collections by the subcommittee do not necessarily represent the position of OSAC or NIST.

* The documents below originated from the former FBI/DoD sponsored SWGANTH working group. The website SWGANTH.org as of November 13, 2018 is not affiliated with the former FBI/DoD sponsored group of the same name.