Preliminary Validation Of Handheld X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry: Distinguishing Osseous And Dental Tissue From Nonbone Material Of Similar Chemical Composition

Keywords

Chemical anthropology; Elemental analysis; Forensic anthropology; Forensic science; Handheld X-ray fluorescence; Human identification

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.

Publication Date

3-1-2015

Publication Title

Journal of Forensic Sciences

Volume

60

Issue

2

Number of Pages

382-390

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.12690

Socpus ID

84924247661 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/84924247661

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