Many news stations feature stories about the victims of criminal activities. Often, you see a tearful woman, asking questions such as “Why were we the victims?” and “Why did he do it?”. The answers to these questions are often unclear, as there are many motives that could potentially cause a person to commit a crime. A field of study, called “criminal anthropology”, attempts to provide a few explanations that could potentially shed light on the reasons behind criminal behavior.
What is Criminal Anthropology?
Criminal anthropology (also sometimes called anthropological criminology) is technically a type of “offender profiling” that makes connections between behavior, the nature of a crime, instincts, physical appearance and other traits. It mostly refers to the Italian school of criminology, which was developed in the late 19th century. One of the key concepts often associated with criminal anthropology is to evaluate a criminal without regard to social conditions or current social structures. In early criminal anthropology, the idea of a “born criminal” was also introduced, which suggested that becoming a criminal is a personality trait rather than a learned behavior.
The History of Criminal Anthropology
It’s difficult to track the actual history of criminal anthropolgy, since it’s a combination of many theories and studies. However, a man named Johann Kaspar Lavater was the first to suggest that there was a link between criminals and their facial structure. The Italian school of criminology is currently the most common association with today’s definition of criminal anthropology.
Darwinism and Moral Superiority
Some of the early theories about criminal anthropology relied on Social Darwinism to evaluate some aspects of criminal behavior. Some arguments were based off of a loose interpretation of Darwin’s theory of evolution. This interpretation speculated that certain species possessed “moral superiority” over other species.
Early Theory
Cesare Lombroso released a study where he claimed to have discovered an association with the physiology of the “criminal body” and that of primates. From this study, Lombroso decided that there were fourteen different physical characteristics that defined a criminal. These characteristics included:
- Unusually Short or Tall
- Small or Weak Chin
- Large, Protruding Ears
- Receding Hairline
- Bushy Eyebrows
- Large Incisors
- Bodily Tattoos
- Protuberances on the head area and around ears
- Thin Upper Lip, but Fleshy Lips
- Sloping Shoulders but Large Chest
Current Theory
The early theories about certain physical characteristics were mostly rejected, and today’s criminal profiling doesn’t follow Lombroso’s “14 Criminal Characteristics”. However, criminal anthropology does still play a role in modern criminal profiling. In most cases, criminal anthropology is combined with forensic psychology and social psychology to create detailed studies. For example, an interesting study was released that found that when one identical twin had criminal tendencies, the other twin also engaged in criminal activities. This similarity was much more pronounced than in non-identical twins.
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