Anthropology is about the scientific interpretation of people and their works, taking into account organic and social factors (this definition follows Alfred L. Kroeber). Anthropology addresses issues about people within their context of daily life; lines of relationships (both kinship and organisational); structural systems of ordering activities and setting boundaries; belief codes and social values. Within this large discipline are many specialty areas, for example, the physical (anatomy and evolutionary changes to the human body), the archaeological (for example, reconstructing patterns of living and social significance from artefacts), the historical (for example, changes over time), the contemporary cultural, ecological, and the forensic to name a few.

Forensic anthropology is concerned with the criminal justice process and most often deals with death scenes. It involves determining identities of the deceased and elucidating information about the circumstances and causes of death. In investigations a forensic anthropologist may locate graves of murder victims. These may be single burials or mass graves.
 

In criminal and historical cases  it may be suspected a body (or bodies) is buried in an area. The precise location of the burial is not  known. In such cases, a search strategy to locate and recover the body can be devised.