Sex determination of mummies through multi-elemental analysis of head hair using electrothermal vaporization coupled to inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry

Abstract

Multi-elemental analysis of hair from living humans allows for accurate, non-skeletal sex determination of 500 year-old mummified individuals.

Forensic analysis by solid sampling electrothermal vaporization coupled to inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry

“…MacConnachie et al presented the exciting finding that 500 year-old hair samples contain the necessary elemental information for accurate sex determination. 32 This provides further evidence for the long-term stability of hair and most importantly its resistance to diagenesis as a preserved biological tissue. This method provides a promising new archaeological and forensic approach for the evaluation of human remains, particularly for samples that are unintentionally preserved.…”

“…While this method proves robust for living populations, further research by MacConnachie et al attempted to apply this discrimination model to hair samples of mummified humans. 32 Sex determination is a key part of archaeological research as it provides insight into the cultural and social structures of ancient societies. 85 Accurate sex determination also plays a role in resolving the complete biological profile of an individual, 86 as well as other parameters such as stature, age and occupation.…”

“…31 MacConnachie et al optimized this method for adult mummies to provide a metric archaeological tool for non-skeletal remains. 32 Analysing bones from avian species, MacConnachie et al constructed historic diet patterns and diagnosed toxin ingestion to the specific source. 34 Research by Asfaw et al classified samples of red paint to the make and model of the source vehicle.…”

“…Predictions of sex of mummy hair by LDA using human hair samples as the training set and either the original predictor set by Huang and Beauchemin31 or the new set by MacConnachie et al32 …”

Validation and expansion of sex determination method through analysis of human hair using electrothermal vaporization coupled to inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry

“…40 However, chlorouorocarbons are known to cause potentially devastating environmental damage; therefore, the use of CCl 2 F 2 has been heavily restricted. 39 Other halogenated reaction gases have replaced CCl 2 F 2 ; tetrauoromethane (CF 4 ) has been widely used with a high degree of effectiveness, 34,[41][42][43][44][45] and is used in this study. The addition of CF 4 to the ETV furnace as a chemical modier results in the formation of volatile uorides with lower boiling points than the pure elements, thereby promoting analyte vaporization and increasing transport efficiency.…”