Considerations for Stable Isotope Analysis of Human Hair : The Impact of Postmortem Environmental Exposure | Forensic Anthropology Main Navigation Main Content Sidebar Current Archives Search Submit Subscribe Early View Toggle search Register Login Search Toggle navigation Home Archives Vol. 4 No. 3 (2021) Research Articles Considerations for Stable Isotope Analysis of Human Hair The Impact of Postmortem Environmental Exposure Article Sidebar Requires Subscription or Fee PDF (USD 25) Requires Subscription or Fee HTML (USD 25) Published: Oct 26, 2021 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5744/fa.2020.0052 Keywords: forensic anthropology, stable isotope analysis, postmortem hair analysis, taphonomy Main Article Content Tiffany B. Saul Forensic Institute for Research and Education, Middle Tennessee State University, 1301 Main Street, Box 89, Murfreesboro, TN 37132, USA Lesley A. Chesson Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) Laboratory, 590 Moffet Street, Building 4077, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, HI 96853, USA Dawnie W. Steadman University of Tennessee, Department of Anthropology Gwyneth W. Gordon School of Earth & Space Exploration, Arizona State University Abstract Stable isotope analysis of postmortem hair is performed in order to make inferences about an individual’s diet and geographic travel history prior to death. During analysis and interpretation, investigators assume that the hair collected from a postmortem environment has not been altered by exposure conditions and that the isotopic “signatures” of hair prior to exposure are preserved in postmortem samples. In order to confidently make inferences from postmortem hair samples, it is necessary to know whether their isotope ratios undergo postmortem changes. To address this question, post-exposure hair samples (n = 44) were collected from known body donors at the Anthropology Research Facility in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA, at various time points ranging from 22 to 1,140 days of exposure. These samples were analyzed for carbon (δ13C), nitrogen (δ15N), hydrogen (δ2H), and oxygen (δ18O) isotope ratios, and the results were compared with pre-exposure hair samples collected from the same donors. This study highlights considerations for the interpretation of isotope ratios obtained from postmortem hair samples in forensic contexts. The results indicate that δ13C, δ15N, and δ18O values from human hair remain relatively consistent over periods up to three years of outdoor exposure, while δ2H values changed significantly between pre-and post-exposure hair samples. Article Details Issue Vol. 4 No. 3 (2021) Section Research Articles sidebar-links ABOUT Overview Editorial Board Publication Ethics Contact CONTRIBUTORS Author Guidelines Book Review Guidelines Open Access Policy Special Issue Proposals Submit an Article SUBSCRIBERS Subscribe/Renew Recommend to Your Librarian NEWS SIGN-UPNEWS SIGN-UP Tweets by @JForensicAnth Most Read What Are We Really Estimating in Forensic Anthropological Practice, Population Affinity or Ancestry? Introduction Estimating the Number of Individuals in a Large Commingled Assemblage Challenges to Identifications of the Cabanatuan Prison Camp Cemetery Remains Unidentified Bodies in the Mexican Context ISSN: 2573-5020 EISSN: 2573-5039   Main Office: 2046 NE Waldo Road Suite 2100 Gainesville, FL 32609 Phone: 352-392-1351 Email: journals@upress.ufl.edu Navigation Home Search Current Archives Subscribe