This work develops a historical, academic and professional review of forensic anthropology; as a practical and applied way of practice this discipline. This historical contextualization of forensic anthropology is made in regard to the United States and Europe, and its subsequent entailment in Latin America, emphasizing its origin and development in Colombia; throughout an analysis of the arrival of this discipline to our country and the historical context that enclosed it, as well as the academic advance that was initially generated by it, but which has receded over time, contrary to the growing labor demand generated. Main challenges regarding the actual academic and labor challenges that forensic anthropology is facing, generating inquiries about the role of this discipline in the investigation of cases of Human Rights and International Human Rights abuses, and the need of reviewing the traditional way of applying forensic anthropology, in the search of a comprehensive forensic anthropology as an effective element in the judicial processes.