Widens traditional concepts of forensic science to include humanitarian, social, and cultural aspects
Using the preservation of the dignity of the deceased as its foundation, Forensic Science and Humanitarian Action: Interacting with the Dead and the Living is a unique examination of the applications of humanitarian forensic science. Spanning two comprehensive volumes, the text is sufficiently detailed for forensic practitioners, yet accessible enough for non-specialists, and discusses both the latest technologies and real-world interactions. Arranged into five sections, this book addresses the ‘management of the dead’ across five major areas in humanitarian forensic science.
Volume One presents the first three of these areas: History, Theory, Practice, and Legal Foundation; Basic Forensic Information to Trace Missing Persons; and Stable Isotopes Forensics. Topics covered include:
- Protection of The Missing and the Dead Under International Law
- Social, Cultural and Religious Factors in Humanitarian Forensic Science
- Posthumous Dignity and the Importance in Returning Remains of the Deceased
- The New Disappeared – Migration and Forensic Science
- Stable Isotope Analysis in Forensic Anthropology
Volume Two covers two further areas of interest: DNA Analysis and the Forensic Identification Process. It concludes with a comprehensive set of case studies focused on identifying the deceased, and finding missing persons from around the globe, including:
- Forensic Human Identification from an Australian Perspective
- Skeletal Remains and Identification Processing at the FBI
- Migrant Deaths along the Texas/Mexico Border
- Humanitarian Work in Cyprus by The Committee on Missing Persons (CMP)
- Volcán De Fuego Eruption – Natural Disaster Response from Guatemala
Drawing upon a wide range of contributions from respected academics working in the field, Forensic Science and Humanitarian Action is a unique reference for forensic practitioners, communities of humanitarian workers, human rights defenders, and government and non-governmental officials.
Table of Contents
Section I: History, theory, practice and legal foundation
1. Using forensic science to care for the dead and search for the missing: In conversation with Morris Tidball-Binz
Morris Tidball-Binz, Email:
2. The protection of the missing and the dead under international law
Ximena Londoño Romanowsky and Marisela Silva Chau*, Email:
3. Extraordinary deathwork: New developments in, and the social significance of, forensic humanitarian action
Claire Moon, Email: c.moon@lse.ac.uk
4. Between darts and bullets: A bioarchaeological view on the study of Human Rights and IHL violations
Maria del Carmen Vega Dulanto, Email: .pe
5. Posthumous dignity and the importance in returning remains of the deceased
Sian Cook, Email: s.cook2@uos.ac.uk
6. Unidentified deceased persons: Social life, social death and humanitarian action
Roberto C. Parra*, Email: , Pierre Perich, Élisabeth Anstett, and Jane E. Buikstra
7. A forensic perspective on the new disappeared: Migration revisited
Jose Pablo Baraybar*, Email: , Ines Caridi, and Jill Stockwell
8. Iran: the impact of the beliefscape on the risk culture, resilience and disaster risk governance
Michaela Ibrion, Email:
9. The search for the missing from a humanitarian approach as a Peruvian national policy
Monica Barriga, Email: .pe
10. Humanitarian forensic action in the Marawi crisis
Sarah Ellinghan*, Email: and Derek Benedix
Section II: Forensic basic information to trace missing persons
11. Integration of information on missing persons and unidentified human remains: Best practices
Diana Emilce Ramirez Páez, Email:
12. Forensic archaeology and humanitarian context: Localization, recovery and documentation of human remains
Flavio Antonio Estrada Moreno*, Email: and Patricia Maita
13. Applications of physiological bases of aging to forensic science: New advances
Sara C. Zapico*, Email: , Douglas H. Ubelaker, and Joe Adserias-Garriga
14. Adult skeletal sex estimation and the global standardization
Heather M. Garvin and Alexandra R. Klales*, Email:
15. Sexual dimorphism in juvenile skeletons and its real problem
Flavio Antonio Estrada Moreno, Email:
16. Dental Aging Methods and Population Variation
Joe Adserias-Garriga*, Email: and Joel Ignacio Tejada Arana
17. Age assessment in unaccompanied minors: A review
Jose Luis Prieto, Email:
18. Interdisciplinary approach and technological innovation for dealing with forensic humanitarian cases in complex scenarios
Ginna P. Camacho C*, Email: .co, Luz Adriana Pérez, and Diana Arango G.
Section III: Stable isotopes forensics and search of missing persons
19. The role of stable isotope analysis in forensic anthropology
Douglas H. Ubelaker*, Email: and Caroline Francescutti
20. Basic principles of stable isotope analysis in humanitarian forensic science
Lesley A. Chesson*, Email: , Gregory E. Berg, Clement P. Bataille, Eric J. Bartelink, and Michael P. Richards and Wolfram Meier-Augenstein,
21. Andean isoscapes: Creating and testing oxygen isoscape models to aid in the identification of missing persons in Peru
James Zimmer-Dauphinee, Beth K. Scaffidi, and Tiffiny A.Tung*, Email:
22. Finding family, finding home: Applying predictive isotope model and other forensic tools on unidentified deceased in Peru
Martha R. Palma*, Email: , Roberto C. Parra, Lucio A. Condori and Tiffiny A. Tung
23. Utility of stable isotope ratios of tap water and human hair in determining region of origin in Central and Southern Mexico: Modeling relationships between δ2H and δ18O isotope inputs in modern Mexican hair
Chelsey Juarez*, Email: , Robin Ramey, David T. Flaherty, and Belinda S. Akpa
24. Multi-Isotope approaches for region of origin predictions of undocumented border crossers from the U.S./Mexico Border: Biocultural perspectives on diet and travel history
Eric J. Bartelink*, Email: , Lesley Chesson, Bret Tipple, Sarah Hall, and Robyn Kramer
25. Spatial distribution of stable isotope values of human hair: Tools for region of origin and travel history assignment
Luciano O. Valenzuela*, Email: , Lesley A. Chesson, Gabriel Bowen, Thure E. Cerling, and Jim R. Ehleringer
26. Applicability of stable isotope analysis to the Colombian human identification crisis
Daniel Castellanos Gutiérrez*, Email: , Elizabeth A. DiGangi, and Jonathan D. Bethard
27. Application of stable isotopes and geostatistics to infer region of geographic origin for deceased undocumented Latin American migrants
Robyn T. Kramer*, Email: , Eric J. Bartelink, Nick Herrmann, Clement Bataille, and Kate Spradley
28. Tracking geographic patterns of contemporary human diet in Brazil using stable isotopes of nail keratin
Gabriela Bielefeld Nardoto*, Email: , João Paulo Sena-Souza, Lesley A. Chesson, and Luiz Antonio Martinelli
Section IV: DNA Analysis and Forensic Identification Process
29. Phenotypic markers for forensic purposes
Ana Freire-Aradas*, Email: , Christopher Phillips, Victoria Lareu Huidobro, and Ángel Carracedo
30. Genetic structure and kinship analysis from Peruvian Andean area: Limitations and recommendation for DNA identification on missing persons
Gian Carlo Iannacone*, Email: and Roberto C. Parra*, Email:
31. Short tandem repeat markers applied to the identification of human remains
William Goodwin*, Email: WHGoodwin@uclan.ac.uk, Hassain M.H. Alsafiah, and Ali A.H. Al-Janabi
32. Genetics without non-genetic data in Colombian experience: Forensic difficulties for the correct identification
Manuel Paredes, Email: .co
33. Is DNA always the answer?
Caroline Bennett, Email: caroline.bennett@vuw.ac.nz
Section V: Identifying deceased and finding missing persons
34. Migrant deaths along the Texas/Mexico border: A collaborative approach to forensic identification of human remains
Kate Spradley*, Email: and Timothy Gocha
35. The Argentine experience in forensic identification of human remains
Mercedes Salado*, Email: , Laura Catelli, Carola Romanini, Magdalena Romero, and Carlos Vullo
36. The approach to unidentified dead migrants in Italy
Cristina Cattaneo*, Email: cristina.cattaneo@unimi.it, Debora Mazzarelli, Lara Olivieri, Danilo De Angelis, Annalisa Cappella, Albarita Vitale, Giulia Caccia, Vittorio Piscitelli, and Agata Iadicicco
37. Identification of human skeletal remains at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) laboratory
Angi M. Christensen*, Email: , Ann D. Fasano, Richard B. Marx, John E.B. Stewart, Lisa G. Bailey, and Richard M. Thomas
38. Forensic human identification: An Australian perspective
Soren Blau, Email:
39. Forensic ıdentification of human remains in Cyprus: The humanitarian work of the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP)
Gülbanu K. Zorba*, Email: , Theodora Eleftheriou, İstenç Engin, Sophia Hartsioti, and Christiana Zenonos
40. Forensic human identification during humanitarian crisis in Guatemala: Volcán de Fuego deadly eruption
Daniel Jimenez, Email:
41. Peruvian forensic experience in the search for missing persons and the identification of human remains: History, limitations, and future challenges.
Roberto C. Parra*, Email: , Martha R. Palma, Oswaldo Calcina, Joel Ignacio Tejada Arana, Lucio A. Condori and Jose Pablo Baraybar
42. Forensic identification of human remains in Uruguay
Alicia Lusiardo*, Email: , Ximena Salvo, Gustavo Casanova, Natalia Azziz, Rodrigo Bongiovanni, Matías López, and Sofía Rodríguez
43. Forensic analysis of the unidentified dead in Costa Rica from 2000 to the present
Georgina Pacheco-Revilla*, Email: and Derek Congram
44. Identifying the unknown and the undocumented: The Johannesburg (South Africa) experience
Desiré Brits*, Email: Desire.Brits@wits.ac.za, Maryna Steyn, and Candice Hansmeyer
45. The Colombian experience in forensic identifications process
Jairo Vivas and Claudia Vega*, Email:
46. Chilean experience in forensic identification of human remains
Marisol Intriago*, Email: , Viviana Uribe, and Claudia Garrido
Section VI: Conclusions
47. Humanitarian action: New approaches from forensic science
Douglas H. Ubelaker, Sara C. Zapico, and Roberto C. Parra*, Email:
