Forensic anthropologist comes to UWG

Warren lectures about his experiences in the field of forensic anthropology. Copyright © Hillary Jolly

Last Thursday, Dr. Michael Warren gave a lecture on campus about his involvement in the field of forensic anthropology, including his work on the Casey Anthony trial.

Warren was chosen as the Spring 2012 Waring Distinguished Lecturer in Anthropology, a series put together every year by the Anthropology Department here at the University of West Georgia.  He gave his lecture, “The Real Bones: Forensic Anthropology Comes to Carrollton”, Thursday night in the Kathy Cashen Hall of the Humanities Building.

Warren spoke about the methods and practices of forensic anthropology, using some of his own cases as examples.  While all the seats of Kathy Cashen Hall were filled, Warren easily kept the audience on their toes with his humor and experiences.

While Warren has authored and co-authored several hundred forensic osteological reports, he also conducted the skeletal analysis of the highly publicized Casey Anthony case, a trial on the murder of Caylee Anthony, the two-year old daughter of Casey Anthony. While the case was popularly broadcasted and especially emotional, Warren said that he treated it “like any other case”.

Warren is currently the Vice President of the American Board for Forensic Anthropology and the Chair of the Ethics Committee for the board.  He is also a member of the Scientific Working Group, an organization that meets twice a year to establish standards for the best practice of forensic anthropology.

After the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, Warren worked on victim identification and helped police distinguish between human and non-human bone and tissue.   He also helped identify victims in Louisiana after the mass disaster of Hurricane Katrina.

Warren’s practices do not stop at the U.S. border. He has also worked overseas in places such as Kosovo, Serbia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, and even Rwanda.  In these areas, Warren worked with his students on trauma analysis, victim identification, and collected evidence of war crimes.

Though Warren’s experiences render him quite impressive in the anthropology community, the most inspiring fact is that he started small.  He began his studies at a community college and worked at a local hospital as an orderly.  Now he is the director of the lab in which he was trained and a professor at the school that he attended for his graduate degrees—the University of Florida.  Warren’s broad range of experiences proves the amount of diversity within the field of forensic anthropology.

“We have a lot to offer,” Warren said. “I consult with forensic pathologists all around the world, and I can tell you that the best ones collaborate with anthropologists.”