Journal
JOURNAL OF FORENSIC SCIENCES
Volume 61, Issue 1, Pages 153-159Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/1556-4029.12855
Keywords
forensic; forensic anthropology; burnt bone; crystallinity index; FTIR
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This study investigated the effect of soft tissue and different exposure times on the prediction of burning temperatures of bone when using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy ( FTIR). Ovis aries rib bones were burnt at different temperatures and for varying time intervals. Results of a linear regression analysis indicated that burn temperatures can be predicted with a standard error of +/-70 degrees C from defleshed bone spectra. Exposure time does not have a significant impact on prediction accuracy. The presence of soft tissue has a significant impact on heat-induced changes of the bone matrix in low (<300 degrees C) as well as high temperatures (>800 degrees C), slowing down combustion in the former and accelerating it in the latter (p < 0.05). At medium temperatures, no significant difference was noted. These results provide forensic investigators a new perspective with which to interpret the results of crystallinity measures derived from burnt bone.
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