Why is "forensic facial reconstruction" considered something of a misnomer?

A. The witness reconstructs antemortem facial features, not the artist.
B. Facial reconstruction artists do not interact with the forensic or law enforcement communities.
C. Forensic artists can reconstruct all body features, not just facial ones.
D. Forensic artists can never perfectly reconstruct antemortem facial features, only approximate them.

Forensic facial reconstruction is a misnomer because forensic artists can only approximate antemortem facial features, not reconstruct them with full accuracy. Therefore, the correct answer to the question is option a.

Why is "forensic facial reconstruction" considered a misnomer? The most accurate answer is that forensic artists can never perfectly reconstruct antemortem facial features, only approximate them. While forensic anthropology, a subfield of biological anthropology, primarily deals with skeletal analysis to help law enforcement solve crimes, it does not guarantee a perfect recreation of an individual's face.

Facial reconstruction is a combination of scientific data and artistic interpretation, with inherent limitations on details like hair color, hair style, and eye color, which cannot be discerned from the skeletal remains alone. DNA analysis is contributing new information on these aspects, but facial reconstructions remain approximations of the person’s appearance before death. Therefore, the correct answer to the question is option a.