Radiocarbon and amino acid racemization (AAR) and the time since death

Abstract

Understanding time since death is a critical component in missing person identification. Along with year-of-birth determination it can provide an age of the individual in order to compare with missing person databases. To determine time since death or year of birth a chronometer is needed. There are several chronometers inherent within the human body. All rely on the organic nature of human tissues and components. Two of these methods are Amino Acid Racemization (AAR) and radiocarbon dating (14C dating). AAR uses the chemical decay of individual Amino acids derived from proteins, the blocks of life, whilst radiocarbon uses the radioactive decay of carbon-14 found in human tissue as a chronometer. In the following discussion both methods are described in detail including their usefulness and limitations in quantifying the time since death. Show more