Human Identity and Identification

Transcription

1 Human Identity and Identification Few things are as interesting to us as our own bodies and, by extension, our own identities. Recent years have brought a growing interest in the relationship between the body, environment and society. Reflecting upon these developments, this book examines the role of the body in human identification, in the forging of identities and the ways in which it embodies our social worlds. The approach is integrative, taking a uniquely biological perspective and reflecting on current discourse in the social sciences. With particular reference to bioarchaeology and forensic science, the authors focus on the construction and categorisation of the body within scientific and popular discourse, examining its many tissues, from the outermost to the innermost, from the skin to DNA. Synthesising two traditionally disparate strands of research, this is a valuable contribution to research on human identification and the embodiment of identity. Rebecca Gowland is a lecturer in Human Bioarchaeology in the Department of Archaeology at Durham University. Her current research interests lie in health and demography of the past, skeletal ageing and age as an aspect of social identity, social perceptions, care and treatment of the physically impaired in the past and the interrelationship between the physical body and social identity. Tim Thompson is a reader in Biological and Forensic Anthropology at Teesside University, where he also acts as a consultant forensic anthropologist. Most of his research examines the effects of burning on the skeleton and how this can help to interpret the context of death. He is also interested in the relationship between identity and identification, modification of the body in the modern context and the role of forensic anthropology in the world at large.

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3 Human Identity and Identification Reb e c c a Go w l a n d Department of Archaeology, Durham University Tim Th o m p s o n School of Science and Engineering, Teesside University

4 c a m b r i d g e university pr e s s Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo, Delhi, Mexico City Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York Information on this title: / R. Gowland and T. Thompson 2013 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2013 Printed and Bound in the United Kingdom by the MPG Books Group A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication data Gowland, Rebecca, author. Human identity and identification / Rebecca Gowland, Durham University, Tim Thompson, School of Science and Engineering, Teesside University. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN (hardback) ISBN (paperback) 1. Forensic anthropology. 2. Identification. 3. Human body. 4. Identity (Psychology) I. Thompson, Timothy James Upton, author. II. Title. GN69.8.G dc ISBN Hardback ISBN Paperback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

5 To Theo and Milo

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7 Contents Acknowledgements x 1 Introduction Introduction and some historical context Human identification: historical context and modern applications Human identification disciplines Biometric identification Boundaries of identity and identification Structure of the book 12 2 Categories of identity and identification Sex, gender, the body and science Ageing, the perception of age and the body Race, ethnicity and the body Socio-economic status Conclusion 36 3 The skin The structure of the skin Skin and identification Fingerprints Palmprints Footprints Earprints Skin and identity Age Gender Class Ancestry 63 vii

8 viii Contents Defective skin Border disputes: one body = one individual Conclusion 69 4 Blood and guts The vascular system Blood Blood and identification Blood and identity Blood and religion The eye The eye and identification Body fat Body fat and identity Body fat and identification Organ transplantation Conclusion The skeleton The structure of the skeleton Skeletal aspects of identity and identification Biological sex Sex, identity and the skeleton Age-at-death Skeletal age and identity Ancestry Ethnicity and the skeleton Health, stature and the skeleton Traumas and pathologies Identifying individuals Conclusion Biomolecular identification and identity DNA DNA-related aspects of identification DNA and past populations DNA-related aspects of identity Genetic cloning and identity DNA, ethnicity and geographical origins Body boundaries and DNA Bacterial communities Stable isotopes Conclusion 157

9 Contents ix 7 Intentional modification of the phenotype Dermal modifications Skeletal modifications Surgical implants Virtual bodies Conclusion Conclusions: identity and identification The construction of identity and identification The use of the biological and social body Issues with the disciplines Human identity and identification 183 References 184 Index 223

10 Acknowledgements From its relatively simple conception, this book rapidly became a huge undertaking, one which ended up heading in a different direction to originally thought. We couldn t have completed this work without the help and support of our colleagues and friends. We would also like to thank past and present students for their thought-provoking and challenging discussions. In particular, we would like to thank those who read through draft v ersions of chapters of this book and gave their time and valuable comments. Principally we d like to thank Prof Tracy Shildrick and Dr Paul Crawshaw (School of Social Sciences and Law, Teesside University), Melanie Brown (School of Science and Engineering, Teesside University), Dr Susan Peake (Teesside University Business School), Dr Zoe Crossland (Columbia University) and Dr Sarah Semple (Department of Archaeology, Durham University) for their input on various chapters and Jessica Cooney (University of Cambridge) for information on prehistoric finger fluting. We would also like to thank Gaynor Western (Ossafreelance) for her copy-editing and wide-ranging and insightful comments across the book. Thanks also for the copy-editing of Alejandra Gutierrez. Naturally, the content and tone of this book is solely attributable to the authors. Tim is also grateful to the Technology Futures Institute at Teesside University which gave him time to work on this book over the past few years. We have been able to use some great images in this book, so thanks to Dr Cathy Gaither (Metropolitan State College of Denver), Dr Anwen Caffell (Durham University) and Ian Parker (Teesside University) for giving us access to their collections. Thanks to Carole Gowland for supplying emergency childcare, without which this book would have taken even longer to write. At Cambridge University Press we d like to thank Katrina Halliday and Megan Waddington for their patience and support throughout the process of devising and writing this book. x