Anthropometry is the scientific process of measuring the human body and skeleton, providing quantitative data on human dimensions and proportions. In forensic science, anthropometry holds a historically significant position, as it was the first method to apply scientific principles to personal identification. While its initial use for identifying living individuals proved unreliable, modern applications focus on forensic anthropology and the reconstruction of biological profiles from human remains.
Anthropometry’s Historical Foundation: Bertillonage
The first systematic attempt at scientific criminal identification relied heavily on anthropometry, popularized by French police officer Alphonse Bertillon in 1879. Bertillon developed a system known as Bertillonage, predicated on the theory that bone measurements remained stable after an individual reached maturity. This approach aimed to classify and track repeat offenders by assigning them a unique physical formula.
The core of Bertillonage involved taking eleven distinct measurements of the body, recorded in centimeters and millimeters. These measurements included the length and breadth of the head, the length of the left foot, the length of the middle finger, the length of the cubit (forearm), and the overall sitting height.
Bertillon categorized each measurement into three classes—small, medium, and large—allowing for an initial sorting process. By cross-referencing these classifications, along with details like eye color and scars, he established a system for retrieving a record from a large file of identification cards. This system marked a significant advance over relying solely on photographs, which were often compiled into “rogues’ galleries.”
The Bertillon card also included standardized frontal and profile photographs, which Bertillon invented and which are still recognized today as the modern mug shot. For the first time, a documented person could theoretically be positively identified later based on their unique physical metrics. Bertillonage was adopted by police forces across France, Europe, and the United States, representing the initial application of biological science to criminal justice.
Limitations and the Decline of Identification Systems
Despite its initial success, the Bertillon system contained inherent flaws that ultimately led to its decline as a primary identification method. One significant limitation was the susceptibility of the measurements to human error during the collection process. If the person taking the measurements was inattentive or the subject was uncooperative, the resulting data could be inaccurate and compromise the system.
The system also struggled with biological variability, particularly when dealing with individuals who had not yet reached full physical maturity, as their bone dimensions were still changing. Maintaining standardization across different jurisdictions proved difficult, as variations in measuring instruments and measurement points led to inconsistencies in the records. This lack of uniformity made reliable cross-jurisdictional matching challenging.
The decisive blow to Bertillonage occurred in 1903 at the Leavenworth, Kansas, Penitentiary, involving a man named Will West. Upon intake, West’s Bertillon measurements were taken and found to match the existing record of a man already incarcerated at the same facility. This second man was named William West, and the two individuals were found to look strikingly alike, though they were later determined to be unrelated.
The prison staff meticulously repeated the anthropometric measurements on both Will and William West and found that the measurements were nearly identical, falling within the margin of error acceptable to the system. This incident demonstrated a glaring failure in the core assumption of Bertillonage: that no two individuals would share the same unique set of body measurements.
Crucially, when the two men’s fingerprints were compared, they were substantially different. This accelerated the transition to dactyloscopy, or fingerprinting, which offered a more permanent, reliable, and standardized method of personal identification. The Will West case cemented the obsolescence of Bertillonage for living individuals and established the dominance of fingerprinting in forensic science.
Current Forensic Applications
While the Bertillon system failed for the identification of living individuals, the fundamental principles of anthropometry persist within specialized modern forensic fields, particularly forensic anthropology. Today, these techniques are primarily applied to the identification and analysis of unknown, decomposed, or skeletal human remains.
Forensic anthropometry involves the systematic measurement of skeletal material, a process known as osteometry. These measurements are used to construct a biological profile, which helps investigators narrow down the identity of the deceased. The main goals of this profile involve estimating the individual’s sex, ancestry, age, and stature, collectively known as the “Big Four” of forensic anthropology.
Estimating Stature and Sex
Estimating stature is a common application, achieved by measuring the length of long bones such as the femur or tibia. Specialized regression formulas are then applied to these bone lengths to calculate the living height of the person, often yielding highly accurate results. Sex determination can also be reliably achieved from skeletal remains, especially from the pelvic girdle or long bones, sometimes reaching up to 95% accuracy using anthropometric measurements.
Modern forensic anthropometry utilizes sophisticated statistical analyses, such as discriminant function analysis, to process the metric data gathered from remains. This approach helps law enforcement agencies achieve personal identity in cases ranging from single, isolated remains to complex mass disaster victim identifications (DVI). Thus, while the system of Bertillonage is obsolete, the underlying science of human measurement remains a valuable component of forensic investigation.