Bioarchaeology

AECOM has assembled a team of experts in the field of bioarchaeology who specialize in assisting clients with a range of osteological and forensic services, including the definition of accidental skeletal discoveries as modern or historic and the identification of remains as human or non-human. The AECOM bioarchaeology team is well versed in human skeletal anatomy and is trained to conduct preliminary osteological assessments, including the determination of age at death, gender, and gross pathologies of human skeletal remains in the course of active cemetery investigations. Subsequent detailed forensic analysis of exhumed remains in a laboratory setting is utilized to supplement field results and provides an additional wealth of information about the deceased, such as stature and ethnic heritage, and can identify clues regarding profession or repetitive activities through mechanical stress indicators. On several occasions, AECOM forensic specialists have used non-invasive, non-destructive analysis of historical skeletal remains to identify previously unknown individuals and to confirm the identity of persons contained in unmarked graves. AECOM has also provided expert testimony in both criminal and civil court situations.

Bioanthropologist Dr. Thomas A. Crist leads AECOM’s more detailed studies involving human remains. Dr. Crist is an adjunct member of our archaeological staff and a professor of anatomy and anthropology at Utica College in Utica, New York. Since 1990, he has served as the forensic anthropologist for the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office, and he is currently a member of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team (DMORT). Dr. Crist is a nationally recognized expert in forensic anthropology, bioarchaeology, and paleopathology.

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