The Earliest Years of Forensics

By jazzy32515
  • 500 BCE

    Abacus

    Abacus
    It was the first calculator. It was made out of wood, wire, and beads. IT could be used for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
  • 66

    Head Identified

    Head Identified
    Emperor Nero killed his wife and put her head on a plate. Then he gave it to his mistress who knew who it was due to two discolored front teeth.
  • 142

    Gunpowder

    Gunpowder
    The Chinese invented gunpowder on accident. They were trying to find a potion for immortality. So instead they wound up making an explosion.
  • 1132

    Bamboo Guns

    Bamboo Guns
    Gunpowder was used to fire clay pellets from thick bamboo. So it worked like a gun. Later on the bamboo was replaced by bronze and the clay was replaced by iron balls.
  • 1216

    Composition of Gunpowder

    Composition of Gunpowder
    Roger Bacon wrote the first mention of the composition of gunpowder in Europe.
  • 1248

    How They Died

    How They Died
    There is a Chinese book called Hsi Duan Yu. It describes how to tell the difference between a drowned victim from someone who has been strangled. It also mentioned a stabbing victim. The murder was solved by flies that were attracted to the blood on the killer's sickle.
  • 1514

    Blood Spatter

    Blood Spatter
    The earliest known use of blood spatter evidence used in a trial was in 1514. The defendant was put in jail for heresy and then convicted of suicide.
  • 1540

    Firearms

    Firearms
    Rifling appears in firearms. Rifling is the arrangement of spiral grooves on the inside of a rifle barrel. It causes a spin on the bullet as it travels through the barrel.

  • Finger Prints

    Finger Prints
    An Italian man noticed the patterns on our fingers. Which we use now-a-days to help solve murders and other crimes. Marcello was referred to as the " Father of microscopical anatomy, histology, and physiology."

  • Blowflies

    Blowflies
    The analysis of a blowfly infestation on rotting meat allowed Francesco Redi to refute the hypothesis of " spontaneous generation" of maggots. So now because of that we can use maggots to help determine when the victim died.

  • Microscope

    Microscope
    This is when the very first high-powdered microscope was constructed. The maker of the invention's name is Anton Van Leeuwenhoek. He was a Dutch businessman, scientist, and one of the notable representatives of the Golden Age of Dutch science and technology.