Forensic Anthropology: An Introduction
MariaTeresa A. Tersigni-Tarrant,Ph.D.,is a forensic anthropologist at the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command’s Central Identification Laboratory and is a fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. She received her bachelor’s degrees in microbiology and anthropology from Michigan State University in 2000 as a student of Dr. Norman J. Sauer, Ph.D., D-ABFA. She received her M.A. (2002) and Ph.D. (2005) in physical anthropology from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville as a student of Dr. Murray Marks, Ph.D., D-ABFA. Dr. Tersigni-Tarrant was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship in 2005 at the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command’s Central Identification Laboratory. During this fellowship, she was instrumental in establishing standard operating procedures for the histological analysis of human remains for the purpose of identifying missing armed service members. Until June 2012, Dr. Tersigni-Tarrant was the consulting forensic anthropologist for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Her research interests include bone biology, human and nonhuman histology, child abuse—specifically patterned fractures and timing of healing—human decomposition research, bone pathology, and developmental anatomy.Natalie R. Shirley,Ph.D.,is an assistant professor of anatomy at LMU DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine and an adjunct faculty member at the University of Tennessee Anthropology Department. She received her B.A. (1998) and M.A. (2001) in anthropology from Louisiana State University and her Ph.D. (2009) from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville as a student of Dr. Richard Jantz, Director Emeritus of the Forensic Anthropology Center. Her postdoctoral research (Improving Sex Estimation from Crania Using 3-Dimensional CT Scans)was sponsored by the National Institute of Justice. Dr. Shirley’s research interests include skeletal maturation in modern populations, age and sex estimation, secular change, and skeletal trauma. She is a member of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, where she was awarded the Emerging Forensic Scientist Award (2007) for her research on secular change in skeletal maturation. Dr. Shirley also works as an instructor and researcher for the U.S. Department of Justice’s International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program’s initiative in Colombia. She was recently featured as the forensic anthropologist on the National Geographic seriesThe Great American Manhunt.