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B.
Evolution of the Practice
As with many applied sciences, the practice of the craft of forensic science
evolved undeterred by any restrictions such as fundamental principles or
universal concepts. In deference to the order of evolution, we will describe
the progress of the profession as it proceeded throughout the last couple of
centuries, then, in the next section, identify the points at which certain
fundamental principles were first discerned.
 
1.
Physical Evidence
 
a.
Biological Evidence — Who?
Because friction ridge patterns on fingers are immediately obvious to simple
visual examination, they were the first physical aspect of personal identity to
be perceived. The complex patterns inherent in fingerprints were noticed
even by primitive man, as evidenced by their incorporation in prehistoric
paintings and rock carvings (Ashbaugh, 1996). The use of fingerprints for
identification by both the Babylonians and later the Chinese seems clear from
the archaeological relics of clay tablets and other legal documents bearing
the prints of interested parties (Morland, 1950). Although several scientists,
among them Marcello Malpighi in the 17th century and John Purkinji, in
the early 19th century, remarked on the nature of fingerprints, it was not
until the late 19th century that their usefulness in establishing individual
identity and solving crimes was fully realized (Morland, 1950; Thorwald,
1964; Moore, 1999).
The acceptance of fingerprints, however, was preceded by a foray into
what is now known as 
 
anthropometry
. Although it seems innately obvious
that we all recognize individuals by their unique aspects and proportions,
Alphonse Bertillon developed this practice into a science of sorts (Thorwald,
1964). Based on the work of Adolphe Quetelet, a Belgian statistician best
known for his statistical innovations in the social sciences, Bertillon devel-
oped a system of body measurements that, if performed with exquisite care,
were claimed to be unique to each individual. Although initially met with
great skepticism, he was finally allowed to put his innovation into practice
for the French police force. In 1883, he was given 3 months to prove its worth.
Bertillon’s successful identification of a recidivist criminal convinced the
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Principles and Practice of Criminalistics
administration to let him expand the system and compile a database of
personal measurements of current prison inmates. Anthropometry, or Ber-
tillonage, was hailed as the latest, greatest crime-solving tool, and quickly
spread throughout the world as an accepted and much-used technique.
Meanwhile, the credit for recognition of fingerprints as a crime detection
tool was being contested by Henry Faulds, a Scottish physician working in
Japan, and by Sir William Hershel, a British officer working for the Indian
Civil Service. Hershel had been using fingerprints since the mid-1800s, both
as a substitute for written signatures for illiterates and to verify document
signatures. It was not lost on him that the indigenous Indian population
considered a transfer of body material as a binding contract. However, it fell
to Faulds to specifically recognize the possibility that fingerprints at the scene
of a crime could identify the offender. Ironically, in one of the first recorded
uses of fingerprints to solve a crime, Faulds eliminated an innocent suspect
before implicating the perpetrator in a Tokyo burglary (Thorwald, 1964).
Much to Hershel’s dismay, Faulds published the first paper detailing the
nature and uses of fingerprints in the journal