Human Provenancing: It's Elemental

2011

Stable isotope analysis of biogenic tissues such as tooth enamel and bone mineral has become a well-recognised and increasingly important method for determining the provenance of human remains, and it has been used successfully in bio-archaeological studies as well as forensic investigations. In particular, 18O and 2H stable isotope signatures of bone and hair, respectively, are well-established proxies of climate (temperature) and source water and are therefore considered as indicators of geographic life trajectories of animals and humans. While the methodology for 2H analysis of human hair, fingernails, and bone collagen is currently used to determine human provenance, i.e. geographic origin and identify possible migration patterns, studies involving the analysis of 2H in tooth enamel appear to be nonexistent in the scientific literature. Ground tooth enamel was analysed by continuous-flow isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) coupled on-line to a high-temperature conversion elemental analyser (TC/EA). An array of tooth enamel samples from archaeological and modern teeth has been analysed under different experimental conditions, and the results of this proof-of-concept study are presented. While no significant differences in 2H abundance were noted as a result of H exchange studies or different sample preparation protocols, no significant differences or trends in measured δ2H-values were observed either with regard to known differences in geographical provenance. We concluded that the δ2H-values obtained from tooth enamel could not be used as proxy for a person's geographical origin during adolescence. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Annals of Anthropological Practice, 2014

ABSTRACT The application of stable isotope analysis has provided novel approaches for provenancing unidentified human remains from forensic contexts. Stable isotope ratios measured in human tissues provide a record of the foods consumed during life as well as the geographic location where drinking water or food was obtained. This study begins with an overview of the application of stable isotope analysis for provenancing human remains, followed by three cases that illustrate how chemical signatures in bone reflect a probable region of origin. Using stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes of human bone, we test whether human skeletal remains recovered by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command-Central Identification Laboratory (JPAC-CIL, or CIL) reflect a geographic origin within North America or Asia. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes of human bone collagen and stable carbon isotopes of bone apatite reflect consumption of food resources that are expected to vary between world regions due to cultural dietary differences. Based on the isotopic differences, a testable hypothesis of geographic origin can be applied, determining if the remains are more likely of a U.S. service person or of an indigenous local. We believe that this approach can provide useful information for narrowing search parameters in unidentified persons cases; can contribute to human rights cases where an unknown individual is thought to originate from a different geographic area; and, in human remains cases of unknown geographic provenience, can determine whether a person is local or nonlocal.

Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, 2006

Recent natural catastrophes with large-scale loss of life have demonstrated the need for a new technique to provide information for disaster victim identification when DNA methods fail to yield the identification of an individual, or in other situations where authorities need to determine the recent geographical life history of people. The latter may be in relation to the identification of individuals detained on suspicion of terrorism or in relation to people-trafficking or smuggling. One proposed solution is the use of stable isotope profiling (SIP) using isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS). Exploiting the link between the isotopic signal of dietary components and the isotopic composition of body tissue, the aim of this study was to refine a non-invasive method of analysing human material such as scalp hair and fingernails using SIP and to assess the degree of natural variability in these profiles. Scalp hair and fingernail samples were collected from British and non-British volunteers at Queen's University Belfast every 2 weeks for a minimum of 8 months. Samples were analysed using IRMS to determine their isotopic composition for 13 C, 15 N, 2 H and 18 O. The results of this longitudinal study yielded information on the natural variability of the isotopic composition of these tissues. The data demonstrate the relatively low degree of natural variation in the 13 C/ 15 N isotopic abundance of scalp hair and fingernails whilst greater variations were recorded in the hydrogen and oxygen values of the same samples. The 15 N and 18 O values of nail are noticeably more variable than that of scalp hair from the same subject. A hypothesis explaining this trend is put forward based on the faster rate of formation of hair than of nails. This means that there is less time for the compounds forming hair to be affected by biochemical processes that could alter their isotopic signature.

New Perspectives in Forensic Human Skeletal Identification, 2018

Abstract The application of stable isotope analysis (SIA) to issues of medicolegal significance is a growing area within forensic science. One application of SIA, the provenancing (i.e., sourcing) of human remains, has emerged as a novel tool in forensic anthropology over the last decade. Most applications of SIA in forensic anthropology have focused on predicting a region of origin or antemortem travel history of an unidentified decedent. More recently, researchers have expanded these applications to aid in the identification of decedents from past wars and conflicts, victims of genocide, and undocumented border crossers. This chapter presents several case studies to demonstrate how SIA can be used as an identification tool for provenancing individuals who died in East Asia during the Vietnam and Korean wars, as well as suspected border crossers from the United States–Mexico border. While many technical challenges remain, SIA is a useful technique to aid in the identification of human remains from past conflicts and large-scale humanitarian efforts.

2015

This work is to the best of my knowledge original, except where acknowledgements and references are made to previous work. Portions of this work have been published elsewhere. Permission to reproduce the following works is provided in Appendix A. Versions of Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 have been published as review papers in the following publications: Holobinko A. 2012a. Theoretical and methodological approaches to understanding human migration patterns and their utility in forensic human identification cases. Societies 2:42-62. Holobinko A. 2012b. Forensic human identification in the U.S. and Canada: a review of the law, admissible techniques, and the legal implications of their applications in forensic cases. Forens Sci Int 222:394.e1-394.e13. A version of Chapter 5 has been published as Holobinko A, Meier-Augenstein W, Kemp HF, Prowse T, Ford SM. 2011. 2 H stable isotope composition of human tooth enamel: a new tool for forensic human provenancing? Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom 25:910-916. I was responsible for the early stages of concept formation, and xii contributed to manuscript composition and edits. The majority of the manuscript was developed by Meier-Augenstein W, and all data collection and analyses were conducted by Meier-Augenstein W and Kemp HF at

Archives of oral biology, 2018

When human remains are found, the priority of the investigation is to ascertain the identity of the deceased. A positive identification is a key factor in providing closure for the family of the deceased; it is also required to issue the death certificate and therefore, to settle legal affairs. Moreover, it is difficult for any forensic investigation involving human remains to be solved without the determination of an identity. Therefore, personal identification is necessary for social, legal and forensic reasons. In the last thirty years forensic odontology has experienced an important transformation, from primarily involving occasional dental identification into a broader role, contributing to the determination of the biological profile. In the same way, "DNA fingerprinting" has evolved not only in terms of improving its technology, but also in its application beyond the "classical": helping with the estimation of sex, age and ancestry. As these two forensic di...

PLoS ONE, 2013

The characterization of unidentified bodies or suspected human remains is a frequent and important task for forensic investigators. However, any identification method requires clues to the person's identity to allow for comparisons with missing persons. If such clues are lacking, information about the year of birth, sex and geographic origin of the victim, is particularly helpful to aid in the identification casework and limit the search for possible matches. We present here results of stable isotope analysis of 13 C and 18 O, and bomb-pulse 14 C analyses that can help in the casework. The 14 C analysis of enamel provided information of the year of birth with an average absolute error of 1.861.3 years. We also found that analysis of enamel and root from the same tooth can be used to determine if the 14 C values match the rising or falling part of the bomb-curve. Enamel laydown times can be used to estimate the date of birth of individuals, but here we show that this detour is unnecessary when using a large set of crude 14 C data of tooth enamel as a reference. The levels of 13 C in tooth enamel were higher in North America than in teeth from Europe and Asia, and Mexican teeth showed even higher levels than those from USA. DNA analysis was performed on 28 teeth, and provided individual-specific profiles in most cases and sex determination in all cases. In conclusion, these analyses can dramatically limit the number of possible matches and hence facilitate person identification work.

International Journal of Legal Medicine, 2014

A review of information that can be provided from measurements made on natural and anthropogenic radionuclide activities in human skeletal remains has been undertaken to establish what reliable information of forensic anthropological use can be obtained regarding years of birth and death (and hence post-mortem interval (PMI)). Of the anthropogenic radionuclides that have entered the environment, radiocarbon (14 C) can currently be used to generate the most useful and reliable information. Measurements on single bones can indicate whether or not the person died during the nuclear era, while recent research suggests that measurements on trabecular bone may, depending on the chronological age of the remains, provide estimates of year of death and hence PMI. Additionally, 14 C measurements made on different components of single teeth or on teeth formed at different times can provide estimates of year of birth to within 1-2 years of the true year. Of the other anthropogenic radionuclides, 90 Sr shows some promise but there are problems of (1) variations in activities between individuals, (2) relatively large analytical uncertainties and (3) diagenetic contamination. With respect to natural series radionuclides, it is concluded that there is no convincing evidence that 210 Pb dating can be used in a rigorous, quantitative fashion to establish a PMI. Similarly, for daughter/parent pairs such as 210 Po/ 210 Pb (from the 238 U decay series) and 228 Th/ 228 Ra (from the 232 Th decay series), the combination of analytical uncertainty and uncertainty in activity ratios at the point of death inevitably results in major uncertainty in any estimate of PMI. However, observation of the disequilibrium between these two daughter/parent pairs 41 could potentially be used in a qualitative way to support other 42 forensic evidence. Q1 43 44 48 at death is particularly important as an accurate assessment 49 will enable certain people to be eliminated from any missing 50 persons enquiry while conversely, it may serve to highlight 51 others that could require additional investigation. When deal-52 ing with the remains of juveniles, conventional determination 53 of age at death can achieve the levels of accuracy required by 54 the forensic anthropologist [1, 2]. However, age determination 55 of adult remains is significantly less accurate, particularly in 56 the post 40-year age range where the anthropologist is often 57 only able to make limited statements such as 'mature adult' 58 [3]. In adults, many procedures involving the examination of a 59 range of skeletal characteristics have been proposed but un-60 fortunately, most suffer from methodological bias and com-61 plex variability in the skeletal ageing process [4]. Even the 62 best skeletal-based methods are often limited to the identifi-63 cation of broad age groupings [5]. In addition, time between 64 death and discovery (post-mortem interval or PMI) can also be 65 important in any investigation of human remains. There are a 66 number of established techniques for estimating this but most 67 are for relatively short-term intervals. Limitations in accuracy 68 increase with increasing PMI and estimates based on bone 69 morphology are strongly influenced by site factors throughout 70 the PMI [6].

Forensic Science International: Genetics Supplement Series, 2019

Various forensic techniques are used to identify a human corpse, depending on the circumstances and the state of remains. Unfortunately, the standard forensic identification methods were not sufficient in 30-35% of all victims, therefore DNA identification was necessary. We have found that a forensic autopsy does not always give reliable answers to important questions, for example: What is the amount of time lapsed between the moment of death and the skeletal remains discovery? and What is the age of the deceased? In fact, it could often cause an erroneous identification strategy choice. This paper describes the forensic application of current DNA technology to solve a missing person's case. The disappearance of a 57 year old male was reported in a town in the north of Serbia in August 2017. In January 2018, in that geographical area parts of skeletal remains, remains of clothes and a watch were found and sent to the Institute for Forensic Medicine. The age of the person was estimated to be between 75-80 years, and it was estimated that the remains had been buried for more than 10 years. This report confused the police, because they did not have a missing person of the above description on record. However, the DNA analysis of a bone sample has shown that the remains belong to the 57 year old missing person who disappeared 5 months prior and for whom the son was the reference sample donor. Complete DNA profiles obtained using AmpFℓSTR® Identifiler® Plus, AmpFℓSTR® NGM™, GlobalFiler™, Investigator® 24plex QS kit, AmpFℓSTR® Yfiler® and AmpFlSTR® Yfiler® Plus PCR Amplification kits were a match with the reference sample of the victim's son (probability 99.9995147%). This work has shown that for identification of skeletal remains and solving missing persons cases, the forensic application of the latest DNA technology is of utmost importance.