Biochemically fractionated stable isotopes have gained wide acceptance in archaeological and palaeodietary studies while geochemically fractionated and radiogenic isotopes have been useful in studies of human origins and migrations.  Successful application of stable isotopes to the forensic identification of modern human remains has been more difficult, in part due to the globalization of human food sources as well as the much greater mobility of populations today.  In this study we use multivariate analyses to compare the relative efficacy of carbon, oxygen, strontium and lead isotopes for determining the origins of immigrant patients who were buried in a late 19th century mental asylum cemetery in Pueblo, Colorado, comparing the results to values for these isotopes in living human beings, most of whom are also recent immigrants to Colorado.

Isotopic fingerprinting of humans using stable and radiogenic isotopes: A critical comparison of their relative efficacy

247th National Meeting (2014)

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