Journal
JOURNAL OF FORENSIC SCIENCES
Volume 63, Issue 2, Pages 504-510Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/1556-4029.13541
Keywords
forensic science; burnt bone; cremains; SEM-EDX; forensic anthropology; osteology; contested cremains
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This study investigates the use of Scanning electron microscopy-energy-dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX) as a diagnostic tool for the determination of the osseous origin of samples subjected to different temperatures. Sheep (Ovis aries) ribs of two experimental groups (fleshed and defleshed) were burned at temperatures of between 100 degrees C and 1100 degrees C in 100 degrees C increments and subsequently analyzed with the SEM-EDX to determine the atomic percentage of present elements. Three-factor ANOVA analysis showed that neither the exposure temperature, nor whether the burning occurred with or without soft tissue present had any significant influence on the bone's overall elemental makeup (p>0.05). The Ca/P ratio remained in the osseous typical range of between 1.6 and 2.58 in all analyzed samples. This demonstrates that even faced with high temperatures, the overall gross elemental content and atomic percentage of elements in bone remain stable, creating a unique fingerprint for osseous material, even after exposure to extreme conditions.
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