by Joelle Steele

The shape, size, and patterns of the human ear are especially well preserved after death. The cartilage of the ears is one of the last human parts to decompose entirely. This makes it a reliable form of identification, as long as there are ears visible in a person’s photograph for comparison. Unfortunately, this is rarely the case. Even in police mugshots taken in profile the ears are often not visible due to being obscured by the three H’s: hair, hats, and hoodies. Little to no effort is made by most police photographers to remove these obstacles to provide a clear view of the ears.

So, what happens? DNA happens. But historically, DNA is a very “new” process. And it’s slow. It takes at least two weeks or more to collect samples from the deceased and his/her possible relatives, analyze it, and compare it to see if there’s a kinship match to establish an identity.

But back to the ears. The measurement of ears and their recognition as being unique to each individual is not a new idea. But up until the beginning of the 20th century, ears were primarily examined to interpret one’s personality traits as part of a pseudo-science called physiognomy. But one man advocated for the use of ears as a means of identification: Alphonse Bertillon (1853-1913). A Paris police clerk, Bertillon believed that ears were unique, but was unable to use them successfully as identification. He eventually turned his attention to fingerprinting as a main form of identification. Over the years, others determined that the ears were unique, but relied on only up to 4 measurements.

Then came Alfred Iannarelli (1928-2015). Iannarelli had a distinguished military career serving as active and reserve in the Navy, Air Force, and Army, attaining the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He also had an equally impressive law enforcement career in forensics, and attained the rank of Chief of Police. In 1949, after World War II, Iannarelli used 12 ear measurements to identify the remains of military personnel who could not be identified by their fingerprints. He went on to study ears extensively and in 1964 published his first book on his methods, The Iannarelli System of Ear Identification, and in 1989, an expanded version called Ear Identification (both books are out of print but can be found used or through interlibrary loans). His system has since been used to identify suspected criminals who have undergone facial damage or plastic surgery to modify their appearance.

When I first met Al Iannarelli, it was 1975 and I lived in San Francisco. I was trying to help a friend identify some of her oldest family members in old albums left to her by her grandmother. She was married to a police officer and he introduced me to Al, who introduced me to the use of ears for identification. I was able to give names to several of the unidentified faces in my friend’s albums. I was hooked.

I read Al’s book, and in 2012 we were planning to update his 1989 book together. He recognized that some of the information in his book was outdated, e.g., he thought ear shapes and patterns were inherited, which they are not. We discussed further study using the abundance of ear photographs available on the Internet. I was almost done with my part of the book when he passed away in 2015. I then changed gears and re-focused my writing, studying more photos of ears, establishing 25 ear measurements, and writing my own book, The External Ear, published in 2018.

Since 1980, I’ve been helping clients put names to people in photographs. It’s one of the best, most accurate, and immediate ways to establish identities. And, as is needed, I have also viewed found bodies in person to match their ears with those in their photographs. So far, my identifications based on ears has been 100% accurate. All thanks to Al Iannarelli, the father of “earology” and ear identification.