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Application of Trace Elemental Profile of Known Teeth for Sex and Age Estimation of Ajnala Skeletal Remains: a Forensic Anthropological Cross-Validation Study

Biological Trace Element Research volume 193, pages 295–310 (2020)Cite this article

Abstract

Teeth store crucial information needed for medical, environmental, genomics, public health, and forensic anthropological research work. The prolonged forensic utility of teeth is ensured by their extended postmortem longevity as they can resist almost all sorts of chemical, biological, and physical degradations or destructions. The main aim of the present investigation was to utilize the discriminant functions and regression equations generated from the elemental profile of known teeth for estimating sex and age of unknown human skeletal remains excavated from an abandoned well at Ajnala (Amritsar, India). The written records mentioned that 282 Indian mutineer soldiers were killed in July 1857, their cadavers were dumped in the disused well, and then a religious structure was built over the periphery of the said well. These human remains, along with some contextual items, were excavated non-scientifically in April 2014. Preliminary results obtained from application of different forensic anthropological techniques like stable isotope, pulp-tooth area ratio, and mtDNA analyses have indicated that these remains belonged to adult males. In present study, the elemental concentrations of 100 mandibular molars of known age and sex were estimated from wavelength-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrophotometer (WD-XRF) analyzer. The statistical equations so generated from elemental concentrations of known teeth were applied to estimate the probable age and the sex of unknown mandibular teeth (N = 100) collected from Ajnala skeletal assemblage. The elements Pb and As were detected in ancient teeth only whereas the detection of elements like Ba, Se, and Te was limited to modern teeth samples only. When the statistical equations so generated were applied to elemental concentrations of Ajnala teeth, it was found that 96% teeth belonged to adult males and the remaining ones were classified to be that of females. Though sexual differences were observed in concentrations of majority of elements, statistically significant differences were found in elemental concentrations of very few teeth. Age estimates of unknown teeth were found in the age ranges of 19 to 48 years. Thus, the trace elemental analysis results supported the written records that the victims were adult males. The cross-validated application of elemental profiles of known teeth for establishing the identity of unknown teeth is the first forensic anthropological study reported from India. Though the obtained accuracy levels were not found within acceptable forensic threshold limits, the present study results may guide future researches involving human hard tissues. It may be concluded that trace elemental concentrations of teeth may be influenced by the factors like age and sex of an individual and thus cannot be used for accurate and reliable forensic sex or age estimations. Dental trace elemental composition can be used as a forensic tool only if used in conjunction with other morphological or molecular analysis of the unknown dental remains.

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Acknowledgements

Authors wish to thank all the individuals who gave their consent for using their extracted teeth for the study. We are also thankful to the staff of Oral Health Centre of Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector-32, Chandigarh, India, for their support in collecting the samples. We are highly indebted to the anonymous reviewers whose valuable suggestions and inputs helped authors further improve the scientific quality of this manuscript.

Funding

Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Department of Science and Technology (DST) Govt. of India, New Delhi, provided financial support sanctioned to the First author in the form of ‘Core Research Grant’ (Animal Sciences) vide Grant No SERB/F/4790/2018-2019, which helped in conceptualization, experimentation, and designing of present brief communication. Second author is thankful to UGC, New Delhi for granting Senior Research Fellowship (No. 6423884/(NET 2013)) which helped in preparation of this manuscript.

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  1. Department of Anthropology, Panjab University, Chandigarh, 160014, India

    J.S. Sehrawat

  2. UGC-SRF, Institute of Forensic Science and Criminology, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India

    Monika Singh

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Sehrawat, J., Singh, M. Application of Trace Elemental Profile of Known Teeth for Sex and Age Estimation of Ajnala Skeletal Remains: a Forensic Anthropological Cross-Validation Study. Biol Trace Elem Res 193, 295–310 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-019-01712-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-019-01712-8

Keywords

  • Forensic anthropology
  • Age and sex estimations
  • Teeth
  • Elemental concentration analysis
  • WD-XRF