Graduation Year

2018

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

M.A.

Degree Name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Degree Granting Department

Anthropology

Major Professor

Erin H. Kimmerle, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Robert H. Tykot, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Jonathan D. Bethard, Ph.D.

Committee Member

George D. Kamenov, Ph.D.

Keywords

forensic anthropology, migration, strontium isotopes, unidentified persons

Abstract

Forensic anthropologists increasingly use chemical isotope analysis in the investigation of unidentified human remains, as biochemical georeferencing continually improves with the development of modern reference data of known origins. Isotope variations in trace elements such as strontium (Sr) and lead (Pb) in human teeth are some of the most useful indicators of past domicile in archaeological research and thus have high potential for modern, forensic applications. In this study, high-precision lead isotope analysis was conducted on 63 modern human teeth, which were previously analyzed for strontium isotopes. The results present new lead isotope data for the following countries: United States (n=34), Colombia (n=9), Haiti (n=5), Cape Verde (n=3), Morocco (n=2), El Salvador (n=2), Guatemala (n=2), Honduras (n=2), Jamaica (n=1), Dominican Republic (n=1), Albania (n=1), and United Kingdom (n=1). In addition, the lead and strontium isotope data of 23 modern human teeth from individuals born in Holland, eight teeth from individuals born in Bulgaria, and 26 teeth from individuals born in the U.S. are extracted from the literature to supplement the data analysis. Exploratory data analysis, nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis tests, and one-way analysis of variance (Scheffe post hoc) are conducted using IBM SPSS® Statistics 24 to test for regional variation. Several trends are observed in the lead isotope data that may be relevant to modern forensic contexts involving unidentified human remains: Individuals from the northeast U.S. have relatively distinct 208Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb, and 206Pb/204Pb ratios when compared to individuals from the rest of the U.S. European and American individuals can be easily distinguished from each other using 208Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb, and 206Pb/204Pb ratios. Central American individuals have significantly lower 87Sr/86Sr ratios than North American individuals, and these groups can be easily distinguished using lead versus strontium scatterplots. Colombian individuals have significantly lower 87Sr/86Sr ratios than North American individuals, and these groups can be easily distinguished using lead versus strontium scatterplots. Caribbean individuals have significantly lower 87Sr/86Sr isotope ratios than individuals from the northeast U.S., and these groups can be easily distinguished using lead versus strontium scatterplots.

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