History, research and practice of forensic anthropology in Thailand

Abstract

Forensic anthropology is an increasingly developing discipline born about a century ago in the United States with the objective to contribute the knowledge of bone biology and physical anthropology to the emerging needs of the court of law. The development of research in biological and forensic anthropology has made rapid progress worldwide in the past few years, however, in most countries--with the exception of the United States--forensic anthropology work is still considered within the duties of the forensic pathologist. This paper attempts to summarise the history and development of forensic anthropology in Thailand by providing information on past and current research and practice that can help forensic practitioners to apply existing methods in forensic cases and mass disasters. It is hoped that the lessons learned from the tsunami catastrophe and the emerging need for positive identification in medicolegal settings will lead to rapid advances in education, training and professional engagement of anthropologists from the forensic departments and the law enforcement agencies in Thailand.

The Estimation of Stature from the Tarsals: Enhancing the Disaster Victim Identification Process in Thailand Using the Calcaneus and the Talus

“…The history, development, and practice of forensic anthropology in Thailand have been relatively limited (Kranioti and Paine, 2011;Traithepchanapai et al, 2016). The anatomist H.S Sankas (1930) was the first Thai individual to study and publish within the field of physical anthropology, conducting research on the relationship between cranial modules and cranial capacity at the United States National Museum.…”

“…Hospital, in Bangkok, Thailand (Traithepchanapai et al, 2016). Sangvichien examined morphological features of the preauricular sulcus for the estimation of sex within a Thai population (Sangvichien et al, 1950).…”

“…Most early anthropological research in Thailand, including that of Sangvichien, remained unpublished, or was only published domestically (i.e. not in English), which resulted in limited representation of Thai research within international forensic and anthropological literature (Traithepchanapai et al, 2016).…”

“…The lack of forensic and anthropological expertise in Thailand was demonstrated during the 'Boxing Day tsunami' (Traithepchanapai et al, 2016). On 26 December 2004, an earthquake measuring 9.1 on the Richter scale occurred off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, triggering a catastrophic tsunami (i.e.…”

Estimativa da ancestralidade em Antropologia Forense por meio do software \"AncesTrees\" em medidas cranianas de uma amostra brasileira

“…Keywords: Forensic Anthropology, Anthropometry, Skull. .......................................................... 35 Esse processo de identificação humana é imperiosamente comparativo, havendo necessidade de informações prévias da vítima ou de possíveis suspeitos, possibilitando a aplicação dos métodos de identificação (TRAITHEPCHANAPAI et al, 2016). A INTERPOL (2013), por meio do seu guia de identificação de vítimas de desastres em massa, estabeleceu como métodos primários de identificação, a papiloscopia (estudo das polpas digitais), a Odontologia Legal e o exame de DNA.…”