Cesare Lombroso was one of the most renowned scientific biology and criminology theorists. He invented the term atavism, suggesting that illegal activity results from primitive desires that have survived evolution. Lombroso analyzed people’s appearance, highlighting the key elements for each type of crime. According to him, certain physical traits can be used to predict potential criminals. The developed theories formed the basis of the Italian school of criminology, or criminal anthropology, which studies the interaction between anthropometrics and criminal activity.
Such figures as Enrico Ferri, Raffael Garofalo, and even Charles Darwin were also involved in developing these theories. Since Lombroso was the first criminologist to take a scientific approach to studying criminals, he is considered by many to be the ancestor of modern criminology. His theory and concept of atavism were revised many times, while Lombroso re-evaluated the impact of anthropological and environmental traits. In his theories, he also studied female criminals, linking them primarily to prostitution. Lombroso’s teachings were further explored in the writings of the English physician Charles Buckman Goring and the professor of anthropology Earnest A. Hooton. They both examined thousands of inmates, concluding that the environment has a much more significant effect than physical traits on the spread of criminality. Thus, at the moment, the concept of anthropological criminology is considered a dead end. However, according to Canadian researchers, the study of minor traits in children associated with genetic problems or exposure to toxins may help analyze the risk of violent activity.