ABSTRACT
Until relatively recently, forensic anthropology was not routinely employed in mass-fatality investigations. Opinion began to change when anthropological expertise came to the fore in the identifi cation of the victims of war crimes and violations of human rights in South America and then in Rwanda (Ferllini 1999), followed in rapid succession by the atrocities witnessed in East Timor, Sierra Leone, and the former Yugoslavia, (Baraybar and Gasior 2004; Glenny 2000; Komar 2003; Steadman and Haglund 2005). Now, as a result of terrorist-related incidents (for example, Bali bombing [see Briggs and Buck this volume], 9/11, London bombings, and Sharm el Sheikh, to name a few) and natural disasters (for example, Asian Tsunami, hurricane Katrina), the position of forensic anthropology has been more fi rmly secured within war crimes investigations and global Disaster Victim Identifi cation (DVI) response requirements (Lain, Griffi ths, and Hilton 2003; MacKinnon and Mundorff 2007). Indeed forensic anthropology is a major component of the national DVI training programme for the U.K. (Black et al. 2008).
