Analysis of <sup>14</sup>C, <sup>13</sup>C and Aspartic Acid Racemization in Teeth and Bones to Facilitate Identification of Unknown Human Remains: Outcomes of Practical Casework

The identification of unknown human remains represents an important task in forensic casework. If there are no clues as to the identity of the remains, then the age, sex, and origin are the most important factors to limit the search for a matching person. Here, we present the outcome of application...

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Autores principales:	Rebecka Teglind, Irena Dawidson, Jonas Balkefors, Kanar Alkass
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	human remains identification forensic medicine date of birth date of death carbon-14 Microbiology QR1-502
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/f82010245b204c57aea23edb8bbd2d04
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:f82010245b204c57aea23edb8bbd2d042021-11-25T16:53:26ZAnalysis of <sup>14</sup>C, <sup>13</sup>C and Aspartic Acid Racemization in Teeth and Bones to Facilitate Identification of Unknown Human Remains: Outcomes of Practical Casework10.3390/biom111116552218-273Xhttps://doaj.org/article/f82010245b204c57aea23edb8bbd2d042021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/11/11/1655https://doaj.org/toc/2218-273XThe identification of unknown human remains represents an important task in forensic casework. If there are no clues as to the identity of the remains, then the age, sex, and origin are the most important factors to limit the search for a matching person. Here, we present the outcome of application of so-called bomb pulse radiocarbon (<sup>14</sup>C derived from above-ground nuclear bomb tests during 1955–1963) analysis to birthdate human remains. In nine identified cases, <sup>14</sup>C analysis of tooth crowns provided an estimate of the true date of birth with an average absolute error of 1.2 ± 0.8 years. Analysis of <sup>14</sup>C in tooth roots also showed a good precision with an average absolute error of 2.3 ± 2.5 years. Levels of <sup>14</sup>C in bones can determine whether a subject has lived after 1955 or not, but more precise carbon turnover data for bones would be needed to calculate date of birth and date of death. Aspartic acid racemization analysis was performed on samples from four cases; in one of these, the year of birth could be predicted with good precision, whereas the other three cases are still unidentified. The stable isotope <sup>13</sup>C was analyzed in tooth crowns to estimate provenance. Levels of <sup>13</sup>C indicative of Scandinavian provenance were found in known Scandinavian subjects. Teeth from four Polish subjects all showed higher <sup>13</sup>C levels than the average for Scandinavian subjects.Rebecka TeglindIrena DawidsonJonas BalkeforsKanar AlkassMDPI AGarticlehuman remainsidentificationforensic medicinedate of birthdate of deathcarbon-14MicrobiologyQR1-502ENBiomolecules, Vol 11, Iss 1655, p 1655 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	human remains identification forensic medicine date of birth date of death carbon-14 Microbiology QR1-502
spellingShingle	human remains identification forensic medicine date of birth date of death carbon-14 Microbiology QR1-502 Rebecka Teglind Irena Dawidson Jonas Balkefors Kanar Alkass Analysis of <sup>14</sup>C, <sup>13</sup>C and Aspartic Acid Racemization in Teeth and Bones to Facilitate Identification of Unknown Human Remains: Outcomes of Practical Casework
description	The identification of unknown human remains represents an important task in forensic casework. If there are no clues as to the identity of the remains, then the age, sex, and origin are the most important factors to limit the search for a matching person. Here, we present the outcome of application of so-called bomb pulse radiocarbon (<sup>14</sup>C derived from above-ground nuclear bomb tests during 1955–1963) analysis to birthdate human remains. In nine identified cases, <sup>14</sup>C analysis of tooth crowns provided an estimate of the true date of birth with an average absolute error of 1.2 ± 0.8 years. Analysis of <sup>14</sup>C in tooth roots also showed a good precision with an average absolute error of 2.3 ± 2.5 years. Levels of <sup>14</sup>C in bones can determine whether a subject has lived after 1955 or not, but more precise carbon turnover data for bones would be needed to calculate date of birth and date of death. Aspartic acid racemization analysis was performed on samples from four cases; in one of these, the year of birth could be predicted with good precision, whereas the other three cases are still unidentified. The stable isotope <sup>13</sup>C was analyzed in tooth crowns to estimate provenance. Levels of <sup>13</sup>C indicative of Scandinavian provenance were found in known Scandinavian subjects. Teeth from four Polish subjects all showed higher <sup>13</sup>C levels than the average for Scandinavian subjects.
format	article
author	Rebecka Teglind Irena Dawidson Jonas Balkefors Kanar Alkass
author_facet	Rebecka Teglind Irena Dawidson Jonas Balkefors Kanar Alkass
author_sort	Rebecka Teglind
title	Analysis of <sup>14</sup>C, <sup>13</sup>C and Aspartic Acid Racemization in Teeth and Bones to Facilitate Identification of Unknown Human Remains: Outcomes of Practical Casework
title_short	Analysis of <sup>14</sup>C, <sup>13</sup>C and Aspartic Acid Racemization in Teeth and Bones to Facilitate Identification of Unknown Human Remains: Outcomes of Practical Casework
title_full	Analysis of <sup>14</sup>C, <sup>13</sup>C and Aspartic Acid Racemization in Teeth and Bones to Facilitate Identification of Unknown Human Remains: Outcomes of Practical Casework
title_fullStr	Analysis of <sup>14</sup>C, <sup>13</sup>C and Aspartic Acid Racemization in Teeth and Bones to Facilitate Identification of Unknown Human Remains: Outcomes of Practical Casework
title_full_unstemmed	Analysis of <sup>14</sup>C, <sup>13</sup>C and Aspartic Acid Racemization in Teeth and Bones to Facilitate Identification of Unknown Human Remains: Outcomes of Practical Casework
title_sort	analysis of <sup>14</sup>c, <sup>13</sup>c and aspartic acid racemization in teeth and bones to facilitate identification of unknown human remains: outcomes of practical casework
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/f82010245b204c57aea23edb8bbd2d04
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Analysis of <sup>14</sup>C, <sup>13</sup>C and Aspartic Acid Racemization in Teeth and Bones to Facilitate Identification of Unknown Human Remains: Outcomes of Practical Casework

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