Stains on bone

Jane Hoff <janehoff56 [at] hotmail__com> writes

>I am a Forensic Anthropologist and I work with the Office of the
>Medical Examiner in Salt Lake City, Utah. In two recent cases I have
>worked on, human bones have been discovered with stains ranging from
>neon-pink to red. I have been doing this work for more than twenty
>years (although not in Utah) and I have never seen this before.
> ...
>Neither set was clothed and no source of the color was found in/on
>the soil in context with the bones.  The color did not develop or
>change after discovery.  Several types of tests have been done to
>try to determine the composition of the stains, but so far no one
>has been able to i.d. it.  Does anybody have any ideas?

My first question is what kinds of tests were done?  Was there
atomic spectroscopy done, FAAS or FFAAS, etc.? or Gas
Chromatography?  You might contact my colleague, Dr. Pete Palmer at
the Biochemistry and Chemistry Dept. at San Francisco State
University. We have been working on a variety of samples for trace
elements, etc.  He might be able to give you some ideas.

Niccolo Caldararo, Ph.D.
Dept. of Anthropology
San Francisco State U.


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 15:35
                 Distributed: Monday, October 29, 2001
                       Message Id: cdl-15-35-007
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