NCJ Number
218682
Date Published
January 2004
Length
29 pages
Annotation
This paper presents the tissue-depth landmarks currently available to forensic artists highlighting the need for standardizing the set of landmarks and the landmark definitions used in facial reconstruction.
Abstract
A common method of three-dimensional forensic facial reconstruction from human remains involves building an approximation of a face directly on the questioned skull using clay. In this method, forensic artists place tissue-depth markers at predetermined landmarks distributed around the skull. Although locations and tissue-depth data for many landmarks are published in tissue-depth tables, a standard set of tissue-depth landmarks does not exist. This leaves the choice of tissue-depth table and the interpretation of the landmarks in the table to the subjective application of the forensic artist. Collecting and categorizing the landmarks included in tissue-depth tables highlight the inconsistencies in current forensic practice, and the need for standardizing tissue-depth tables used in forensic facial approximation. This paper presents a catalog of landmarks defined in the surveyed tissue-depth tables that are available to forensic artists and used in forensic facial approximation by the bone in which they are most often located. These include: landmarks on the frontal bone, landmarks on the temporal bone, landmarks on the zygomatic bone, landmarks on the nasal bone, landmarks on the maxilla bone, landmarks on the mandible bone, and landmarks on the occipital and parietal bones. References and tables