Preliminary Validation of Handheld X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry: Distinguishing Osseous and Dental Tissue from Nonbone Material of Similar Chemical Composition

    Authors

    J. Forensic Sci.

    Comments

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    Abbreviated Journal Title

    Qual. Eng.

    Keywords

    forensic science; forensic anthropology; elemental analysis; human; identification; handheld X-ray fluorescence; chemical anthropology; MONOCLONAL-ANTIBODIES; CHEMOMETRIC METHODS; RAMAN-SPECTROSCOPY; ELEMENTAL ANALYSIS; ANCIENT BONE; ALBUMIN; DIFFERENTIATION; IDENTIFICATION; IMPLANT; IVORIES; Medicine, Legal

    Abstract

    One of the tasks of a forensic anthropologist is to sort human bone fragments from other materials, which can be difficult when dealing with highly fragmented and taphonomically modified material. The purpose of this research is to develop a method using handheld X-ray fluorescence (HHXRF) spectrometry to distinguish human and nonhuman bone/teeth from nonbone materials of similar chemical composition using multivariate statistical analyses. The sample materials were derived primarily from previous studies: human bone and teeth, nonhuman bone, nonbiological materials, nonbone biological materials, and taphonomically modified materials. The testing included two phases, testing both the reliability of the instrument and the accuracy of the technique. The results indicate that osseous and dental tissue can be distinguished from nonbone material of similar chemical composition with a high degree of accuracy (94%). While it was not possible to discriminate rock apatite and synthetic hydroxyapatite from bone/teeth, this technique successfully discriminated ivory and octocoral.

    Subjects

    H. A. Zimmerman; J. J. Schultz;M. E. Sigman

    Volume

    60

    Issue/Number

    2

    Publication Date

    1-1-2014

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    382

    Last Page

    390

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000350764300016

    ISSN

    0022-1198

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