Bomb Peak: Radiocarbon Dating of Skeletal Remains in Routine Forensic Medical Practice

Abstract

When human remains are found, apart from helping explain the cause of death and determining the extent of any injuries, forensic pathologists are usually requested to determine the identity of the deceased and how much time has elapsed since his death. In the Czech Republic, the criminal liability for murder is set to a statute of limitations of 20 years. In our pilot study, tissue samples of human remains from two decedents were radiocarbon (14C) dated to estimate the date of death. In agreement with published literature, we have confirmed relatively short carbon turnover time in hair, nail, and bone fat. Therefore these samples are the most appropriate for determining date of death. Other samples, such as teeth (collagen and carbonate form) and collagen isolated from bone samples, which exhibit relatively long carbon turnover time, can be used to reduce ambiguity of dating results and to indicate some interfering influences. Given the possibility of processing multiple sample types, we also propose brief guidelines for comparing and interpreting the results of individual analyses.

The Best possible Time resolution: How precise could a Radiocarbon dating method be?

“…The batch method of graphitization with pure Zn as a sole reduction agent was derived from similar routines described by Rinyu et al (2015) and by Orsovszki and Rinyu (2015). Following the graphitization step, the samples were sealed in vacuum and sent for AMS measurements to the ICER laboratory in Debrecen with international code "DeA-" (Molnár et al 2013a(Molnár et al , 2013bHandlos et al 2018). The measurements were carried out using the EnvironMICADAS compact tandem accelerator (Kromer et al 2013;Molnár et al 2013b).…”

The Oldest Rulers of Early Medieval Bohemia and Radiocarbon Data

“…We can assume the time difference between the date of death (Table 3 and Figure 5) and the mean date of bone collagen origin (Table 4) is a result of collagen remodeling during life of a given human. Such differences can reach even several decades in the case of older individuals (Handlos et al 2018). Human bone collagen representing the age of puberty (Geyh 2001;Bárta and Štolc 2007).…”

Prehistoric Charcoal Graffiti Discovered in Kateřinská Cave, Czech Republic

“…Subsequently, the samples were graphitized using metallic zinc as a sole reduction agent (Rinyu et al 2013(Rinyu et al , 2015Orsovszki and Rinyu 2015). Measurement of graphites was performed at the MICADAS system in the Hertelendi Laboratory of Environmental Studies (DebA), ATOMKI HAS in Debrecen, Hungary (Molnár et al 2013a(Molnár et al , 2013bHandlos et al 2018;Svetlik et al 2019).…”