Korean J Leg Med.  2022 Nov;46(4):114-121. 10.7580/kjlm.2022.46.4.114.

Birth Year Estimation of Skeletal Remains by Radiocarbon Dating for Teeth

• Park JP
• Choi SG

• KMID: 2536624
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.7580/kjlm.2022.46.4.114

Abstract

Identifying remains is an important role of forensic medicine. For identification, dating, i.e., estimating the birth year and death year, is expected as useful, however has not yet been practically applied. A dating method using radiocarbon analysis was recently introduced and related studies have been reported. In this study, we conducted radiocarbon analysis on teeth and aimed to develop a formula to estimate the birth year. Fifteen autopsy cases from the National Forensic Service, from December 2014 to December 2020, with known birth year were selected for inclusion. For each case, dentin of the first molar in mandible was taken, radiocarbon analysis was carried out and the corresponding estimated birth year were calculated using the bomb peak curve. The differences between the birth year and the teeth year were determined and analyzed on the influence of variables. A formula for estimating the birth year was developed and the applicability of the formula was determined. The difference between the birth year and the teeth year was 2.6 years on average for cases born before 1963, and 5.7 years for those born after 1963. The estimation formula of birth year was as follows: (Before 1963) Birth year=0.565×(Tooth year)–0.446×(Age)+875.001, (After 1963) Birth year=Tooth year–5.7. This study is meaningful in that it reduced the error by using only the first molars of the lower jaw as a sample, and presented an estimation formula of birth year that can be applied in practice through radiocarbon analysis of teeth.

Keyword

Radiometric dating; Forensic anthropology; Tooth; Birth year