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Dipl.-Biol. Bastian J. Hirthammer
Forensic Anthropology

Professional profile

Profile and qualifications

Dipl.-Biol. Bastian J. Hirthammer has worked as a court-appointed expert in forensic anthropology since 2002 and has been in independent practice in Berlin since 2006. Court expert work therefore began before the establishment of the independent practice.

Court casework, professional integration, and independent scientific work shape the focal areas of forensic image comparison, age estimation, and morphological ageing.

This page brings together information on court practice, qualifications, memberships, and publications. At the same time, it makes visible that court expert work began before the independent practice and that the later establishment of the office builds on an already existing forensic-anthropological activity.

The central fields are forensic image comparison, age estimation, and morphological ageing. Practical work is therefore closely linked to the same fields that also shape the scientific publications and professional memberships.

Practice Expert witness practice since 2002 · independent office since 2006
Professional Context AGIB · AGFAD · DGGG
Focus areas Forensic image comparison · Age estimation · Morphological Ageing

Focus areas

  • Morphological forensic image comparison as a core field in court-related administrative offence and criminal proceedings
  • Forensic age estimation at legally relevant age thresholds
  • Morphological ageing of the human face and age-related feature changes
  • 3D quantification of human morphological structures and standardised comparison images

These focal areas connect practical expert work with scientific activity. They also explain why publications, casework, and methodological contributions on the website are closely related to one another.

Verifiable reference points

  • Expert witness practice since 2002
  • Independent office in Berlin since 2006
  • AGIB membership as a scientific expert since 2008
  • Annual AGFAD certification since 2009
  • Own specialist work on forensic image comparison, age estimation, and morphological ageing

These points are intended to make it understandable on what professional and temporal basis the practical work rests.

On procedure

For an initial enquiry, the type of proceedings, the evidential question, and the current state of the material are sufficient. From this it can usually already be derived whether a preliminary review, technical visualisation, or a more extensive expert examination is appropriate.

Professional standards and the role of the expert witness

Morphological identity opinions require specific expertise, practical experience, and methodological care. The work does not consist in mere recognition or an overall visual impression. It requires a structured analysis of individual morphological features, an examination of their comparability within the material of the case, and a traceable classification of similarities, differences, and uncertainties.

The expert witness acts independently and impartially. He is bound to the evidential question, but also states openly when the submitted material does not support a reliable assessment or when further comparison options would be professionally useful. Information on qualifications, judicial practice, professional affiliations, and publications therefore serves not only information, but also transparency of expert work.

To the page on professional standards and the expert role

Selected publications

Hirthammer, B. J.; Rösing, F. W. Identifikation von Personen auf Bildern. In: Münchener Anwaltshandbuch Strafverteidigung . 3rd ed. Munich: C.H. Beck; 2021:2901–2916.

Lächler, S.; Hirthammer, B. J.; Rösing, F. W. Quantifying the Asymmetries of the Human Face. HOMO – Journal of Comparative Human Biology . 2020;71(2):91–99.

Rösing, F. W.; Hirthammer, B. J.; Funke, K. Bilder als Beweis: Die morphologische Identifikation im Strafverfahren. Richter ohne Robe . 2013;25(1):7–9.

Further works on image suitability, evidential assessment, facial asymmetries, and morphological ageing are compiled on the publications page.