They must document a record of appropriate professional activities in forensic anthropology, and achieve passing grades on comprehensive written and practical examinations which address the broad principles of forensic anthropology. Most are academic professors at schools, centers, and universities. The techniques which physical anthropologists use to discover information about early humans from their skeletons are also used to discover the identity of the victims of accidents, fires, plane crashes, war, or crimes such as murder. This is determined by studying the pelvis, base of the skull, the forehead, and the jaw. Males usually have a more prominent brow ridge, eyesockets, and jaw.
Women have a wider pelvis.
They are able to approximate how old the person was by examining the joints, bones, and teeth. A child's skull has more separation between the bone plates. The smoother the skull, the older the person. The examination of wrist development for children under thirteen is another reliable method of determining age. For most bones, the estimation of age works best if the victim is under age 30.