NCJ Number
192027
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 46 Issue: 6 Dated: November 2001 Pages: 1285-1287
Date Published
November 2001
Length
3 pages
Annotation
Although chemical analysis of carbon isotopes is usually thought of as a procedure for dating organic material of archaeological origin, it also can provide key information in assessing similar material in a forensic context; this article uses an example from the American Southwest to document this.
Abstract
From 1950 to 1963, atmospheric testing of thermonuclear devices produced elevated levels of artificial carbon-14 in the atmosphere. Terrestrial organic material from that time period displays carbon-14 activity nearly twice the pre-1950 levels. Measurement of the carbon-14 activity within organic specimens from forensic cases can reveal whether the material dates before or after about 1955. Such information can prove important in some cases in determining whether the material is sufficiently recent to be of forensic concern. In 1992 human skeletal remains were submitted for analysis to the Federal Bureau of Investigation from a law enforcement agency in the southwestern region of the United States. The remains had been found in an eroded river bed in an area with a temperate semi-arid environment. Taphonomical indicators suggested the remains were likely at least several years old, but antiquity of many decades could not be ruled out using the morphological indicators. A sample of bone from the skeleton weighing approximately 5.5 grams was submitted to Beta Analytic, Inc. in Miami, FL., for radiocarbon analysis by using accelerator mass spectrometry. This article describes the analytic procedures and the results in the effort to date the death of the person whose skeleton was found. 1 figure and 8 references