Editing Biometrics (section)

==History==
{{further|Biostatistics}}

An early cataloguing of fingerprints dates back to 1885 when [[Juan Vucetich]] started a collection of fingerprints of criminals in Argentina.<ref>[http://onin.com/fp/fphistory.html The History of Fingerprints] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130312012330/http://onin.com/fp/fphistory.html |date=12 March 2013 }}.</ref> Josh Ellenbogen and Nitzan Lebovic argued that Biometrics originated in the identification systems of criminal activity developed by [[Alphonse Bertillon]] (1853–1914) and by [[Francis Galton]]'s theory of fingerprints and physiognomy.<ref>Josh Ellenbogen, ''Reasoned and Unreasoned Images: The Photography of Bertillon, Galton, and Marey'' (University Park, PA, 2012)</ref> According to Lebovic, Galton's work "led to the application of mathematical models to fingerprints, phrenology, and facial characteristics", as part of "absolute identification" and "a key to both inclusion and exclusion" of populations.<ref>Nitzan Lebovic, "Biometrics or the Power of the Radical Center", in ''Critical Inquiry'' 41:4 (Summer, 2015), 841–868.</ref> Accordingly, "the biometric system is the absolute political weapon of our era" and a form of "soft control".<ref>Nitzan Lebovic, "Biometrics or the Power of the Radical Center", in ''Critical Inquiry'' 41:4 (Summer, 2015), p. 853.</ref> The theoretician [[David Lyon (sociologist)|David Lyon]] showed that during the past two decades biometric systems have penetrated the civilian market, and blurred the lines between governmental forms of control and private corporate control.<ref>David Lyon, ''Surveillance Society: Monitoring Everyday Life'' (Philadelphia, 2001).</ref> Kelly A. Gates identified [[9/11]] as the turning point for the cultural language of our present: "in the language of cultural studies, the aftermath of 9/11 was a moment of articulation, where objects or events that have no necessary connection come together and a new discourse formation is established: automated facial recognition as a [[homeland security]] technology."<ref>Kelly A. Gates, ''Our Biometric Future: Facial Recognition Technology and the Culture of Surveillance'' (New York, 2011), p.&nbsp;100.</ref>