4.4 Article

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

Journal

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LEGAL MEDICINE
Volume 123, Issue 1, Pages 35-40

Publisher

SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s00414-008-0286-7

Keywords

Hair; Geographic origin; Stable isotope; Bio-elements; Multivariate analysis

Funding

  1. Friedrich Baur Foundation, Munich
  2. Police Headquarters of Munich

Ask authors/readers for more resources

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 delta(13)C, Australians by delta(34)S and delta(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.

Authors

I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.

Reviews

Primary Rating

4.4
Not enough ratings

Secondary Ratings

Novelty
-
Significance
-
Scientific rigor
-
Rate this paper

Recommended

No Data Available
No Data Available