title: History, research and practice of forensic anthropology in Thailand.
abstract: Forensic anthropology is an increasingly developing discipline born about a century ago in the United States with the objective to contribute the knowledge of bone biology and physical anthropology to the emerging needs of the court of law. The development of research in biological and forensic anthropology has made rapid progress worldwide in the past few years, however, in most countries--with the exception of the United States--forensic anthropology work is still considered within the duties of the forensic pathologist. This paper attempts to summarise the history and development of forensic anthropology in Thailand by providing information on past and current research and practice that can help forensic practitioners to apply existing methods in forensic cases and mass disasters. It is hoped that the lessons learned from the tsunami catastrophe and the emerging need for positive identification in medicolegal settings will lead to rapid advances in education, training and professional engagement of anthropologists from the forensic departments and the law enforcement agencies in Thailand.
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand; Edinburgh Unit of Forensic Anthropology, School of History, Classics and Archaeology, University of Edinburgh, UK; Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand.
authors.forename: Pongpon
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Traithepchanapai
authors.affiliation: Anatomy Department, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Thailand.
authors.forename: Pasuk
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mahakkanukrauh
authors.affiliation: Edinburgh Unit of Forensic Anthropology, School of History, Classics and Archaeology, University of Edinburgh, UK. Electronic address: elena.kranioti@ed.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Elena F
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: Kranioti
mesh_terms: D005544:Forecasting; D018732:Forensic Anthropology / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000639:trends*; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D024382:Professional Role; D012106:Research; D013785:Thailand
keywords: Biological profiling; Forensic anthropology; Forensic anthropology population data; Positive identification; Thailand