Maritime adaptations and dietary variation in prehistoric Western Alaska: Stable isotope analysis of permafrost-preserved human hair

2013 ◽  
Vol 151 (3) ◽  
pp. 448-461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Britton ◽  
Rick Knecht ◽  
Olaf Nehlich ◽  
Charlotta Hillerdal ◽  
Richard S. Davis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Stable Isotope Analysis ◽  
Human Hair ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Maritime Adaptations ◽  
Dietary Variation

scholarly journals Stable Isotope Analysis of Human Hair and Nail Samples: The Effects of Storage on Samples

2008 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isla Fraser ◽  
Wolfram Meier-Augenstein ◽  
Robert M. Kalin
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Stable Isotope Analysis ◽  
Human Hair ◽  
Isotope Analysis

Stable isotope analysis of modern human hair collected from Asia (China, India, Mongolia, and Pakistan)

2009 ◽  
pp. NA-NA ◽  
Author(s):  
A.H. Thompson ◽  
L.A. Chesson ◽  
D.W. Podlesak ◽  
G.J. Bowen ◽  
T.E. Cerling ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Stable Isotope Analysis ◽  
Human Hair ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Modern Human

Considerations for Stable Isotope Analysis of Human Hair

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiffany Saul ◽  
Lesley Chesson ◽  
Dawnie Steadman ◽  
Gwyneth Gordon
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Stable Isotope Analysis ◽  
Human Hair ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Isotope Ratios ◽  
Outdoor Exposure ◽  
Postmortem Changes ◽  
Isotopic Signatures ◽  
Post Exposure ◽  
Hair Samples

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.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document