ARTDESIGNFOODHUMOUR

Friday, April 9, 2010

Bertillonage (aka anthropometry)



anthropometry - the scientific study of the measurements and proportions of the human body.

Today, anthropometry plays an important role in industrial design, clothing design, ergonomics and architecture where statistical data about the distribution of body dimensions in the population are used to optimize products. Changes in life styles, nutrition and ethnic composition of populations lead to changes in the distribution of body dimensions (e.g., the obesityepidemic), and require regular updating of anthropometric data collections.

An identification system designed in 1880 by French police officer and biometrics researcher,
Alphonse Bertillonage (1853 - 1914).


With the assumption that a person's physical measurements don't change after the age of 20,
Bertillonage measured and registered people to identify criminals. He also introduced the mug shot, developed metric photography (placing objects in reconstructed dimensions of space) and forensic techniques such as ballistics, footprint capturing system and the dynamometer.

Due to many miscalculations, the expensive and time consuming Bertillonage system was later rejected, implementing the fingerprint system created by Francis Galton.

Some of the elements are still used today like the mug shot and the collection of types of facial characteristics form the basis of composite sketches of suspects.


There were eleven measurements:

  1. Height
  2. Stretch: Length of body from left shoulder to right middle finger when arm is raised
  3. Bust: Length of torso from head to seat, taken when seated
  4. Length of head: Crown to forehead
  5. Width of head: Temple to temple
  6. Length of right ear
  7. Length of left foot
  8. Length of left middle finger
  9. Length of left cubit: Elbow to tip of middle finger
  10. Width of cheeks
  11. Length of left little finger





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