Assignment of unknown persons to their geographical origin by determination of stable isotopes in hair samples

Analysing the isotope ratio of light elements in human tissue of an unknown person helps to reconstruct the life history with regard to geographical origin and/or typical food supply. In this study the isotope ratios of the bio-elements in hair samples of 111 persons from 13 different countries all...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of legal medicine 2009, Vol.123 (1), p.35-40
Main Authors: Mützel (Rauch), Elisabeth, Lehn, Christine, Peschel, Oliver, Hölzl, Stefan, Roßmann, Andreas
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cooperation
Discriminant Analysis
Forensic Anthropology - methods
Forensic Medicine
Geography
Hair - chemistry
Humans
Hydrogen - analysis
Isotopes
Isotopes - analysis
Medical Law
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Multivariate Analysis
Original Article
Provenance
Ratios
Reference materials
Statistical analysis
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Analysing the isotope ratio of light elements in human tissue of an unknown person helps to reconstruct the life history with regard to geographical origin and/or typical food supply. In this study the isotope ratios of the bio-elements in hair samples of 111 persons from 13 different countries all over the world were measured with the aim of provenance determination. The results indicated that individuals from Costa Rica and Brazil can be differentiated from typical European individuals by δ 13 C, Australians by δ 34 S and δ 2 H in hair samples. The combination and evaluation of the data by multivariate statistical analysis considerably improved origin assignment. Investigation of hair samples from a number of individuals from one particular region (southern Germany) yielded remarkable variation of isotopic values indicating different nutritional habits. The possibilities and limitations of this method in its current state are demonstrated and discussed.
ISSN:0937-9827
1437-1596
DOI:10.1007/s00414-008-0286-7