BITACORA: A modern-human tissues (teeth, keratin) isotopic database for Argentina

Abstract

As a consequence of the recent history of Argentina related to crimes against humanity, the country has positioned itself as a leader on Forensic Anthropology in human rights contexts. It can even be argued that Forensic Genetics had its origins in human rights work in the early 1980s in Argentina. However, there are still hundreds of unidentified human remains recovered from the dictatorial regimes’ crimes. Furthermore, every year there are dozens of modern Nomen Nescio (N.N., unnamed persons) buried in public cemeteries, many of which could be immigrants. Thus, there is an urgent need to adopt new biogeochemical techniques that could increase the biological profile of a victim, and therefore increase the chances of positive identifications. One of such initiatives is the development isotopic databases and models that can provide information on the population and region of origin of unidentified victims. We present the development of a human tissue isotopic database named BITACORA (from its name in Spanish: Base de Informacio n Isoto pica de Tejidos Actuales Como Referencia Argentina). BITACORA currently holds isotopic data ( 18O, 2H, 13C, 15N and 34S values) from teeth (enamel and dentine) and keratin tissues (hair, beard, and fingernails) obtained from volunteers of known origin, as well as individual information of the donors (age, gender, biometrics, dietary preferences, and relocation history). BITACORA is associated with a tap water isotope database for the same locations where human samples were obtained. Currently, we have >180 teeth, >290 keratin and >380 water samples gathered from across the country. We present preliminary analyses on the geographic distribution of these isotopic markers, aimed at generating spatial models for region of origin assignment, and provide an overall discussion of the current status and future development of the databases.