What methods are used to date human remains?

Answer 1

Radiocarcon dating is used.
Radiocarbon dating is a radiometric dating method that uses the naturally occurring isotope carbon-14 to determine the age of carbonaceous materials up to ca 60,000 years. Within archaeology it is considered an absolute dating technique. The technique was discovered by Willard Frank Libby and his colleagues in 1949 during his tenure as a professor at the University of Chicago. In 1960, Libby was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry for his method to use carbon-14 for age determination.
Carbon has two stable, nonradioactive isotopes: carbon-12 (12C), and carbon-13 (13C). In addition, there are tiny amounts of the unstable isotope carbon-14 (14C) on Earth. Carbon-14 has a half-life of 5730 years and would have long ago vanished from Earth were it not for the unremitting cosmic ray impacts on nitrogen in the Earth's atmosphere, which forms more of the isotope. When cosmic rays enter the atmosphere, they undergo various transformations, including the production of neutrons. The resulting neutrons participate in the following reaction on one of the N atoms being knocked out of a Nitrogen (N2) molecule in the atmosphere:

1n + 14N → 14C + 1p

Atmospheric 14C, New Zealand[1] and Austria[2]. The New Zealand curve is representative for the Southern Hemisphere, the Austrian curve is representative for the Northern Hemisphere. Atmospheric nuclear weapon tests almost doubled the concentration of 14C in the Northern Hemisphere [3].The highest rate of carbon-14 production takes place at altitudes of 9 to 15 km (30,000 to 50,000 ft), and at high geomagnetic latitudes, but the carbon-14 spreads evenly throughout the atmosphere and reacts with oxygen to form carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide also permeates the oceans, dissolving in the water. For approximate analysis it is assumed that the cosmic ray flux is constant over long periods of time; thus carbon-14 could be assumed to be continuously produced at a constant rate and therefore that the proportion of radioactive to non-radioactive carbon throughout the Earth's atmosphere and surface oceans is constant: ca. 1 part per trillion (600 billion atoms/mole). For more accurate work, the temporal variation of the cosmic ray flux can be compensated for with calibration curves. If these curves are used, their accuracy and shape will be the limiting factors in the determination of the radiocarbon age range of a given sample.

Plants take up atmospheric carbon dioxide by photosynthesis, and are eaten by animals, so every living thing is constantly exchanging carbon-14 with its environment as long as it lives. Once it dies, however, this exchange stops, and the amount of carbon-14 gradually decreases through radioactive decay.

14C → 14N + 0β
By emitting a β particle(Beta decay), carbon-14 is changed into stable (non-radioactive) nitrogen-14. This decay can be used to get a measure of how long ago a piece of once-living material died. However, aquatic plants obtain some of their carbon from dissolved carbonates which are likely to be very old, and thus deficient in the carbon-14 isotope, so the method is less reliable for such materials as well as for samples derived from animals with such plants in their food chain.

Answer 2

There are several methods, depending on the condition of the remains. One of my favorites (as long as I don't have to do it) is the age and species of the maggots in the body. If the person died within the last twenty four hours or so, the onset or end of "rigor mortis", the temporary stiffness of a dead body, may help determine the time of death.

There's a famous place in Tennessee called the "Body Farm". If you leave your body to science, or if nobody picks your body up from the morgue, this could be your final resting place!

You would essentially be left to rot, so that folks training to be forensic anthropologists can observe your corpse over time to see exactly how it decomposes. Some bodies are out in the open, some in car trunks, some in shallow graves, vaults, etc. From all of this, forensic anthropologists have built and are building a database to help law enforcement agencies determine time of death and solve crimes.

I know that if I happened to visit this place, I would probably vomit early and often. Yet, I find it oddly satisfying to know that someone, somewhere is studying this fascinating and important set of issues. I'm just very, very glad it's not me!

Answer 3

The best way to date ancient remains are to use Carbon 14 dating. Carbon 14 is a radioactive form of carbon. While we are alive, we constantly take in new carbon through teh food we eat, a small fractoin of which is radioactive carbon 14. which tehn proceeds to decay. So while teh carbon 14 is decaying in our bodies, we are replenishing it by eating, so that everyone of us has teh same amount of carbon 14 in tehir bodies. However once we die, we stop taking in new carbon 14, so the amount in teh body starts decaying, and by measuring that amount one can tell how long ago a perosn died. Note that this only works for remains older than 5000 years. For less old remains ( liek a year or less) teh state of decompositon of abody as well as teh type of insects found on teh remains serves as a useful tool in dating remains

Answer 4

C14 is more effective for dating very old remains, but forensic entomology can help elucidate the time of death of a freshly-dead individual. As tissue degradation progresses, different types of insects and certain stages of their life cycles (larva, pupa vs. adult) are involved in the process. By looking at the species/stages of insects, it is possible to discern how long a body has been decomposing.

Answer 5

There quite hasn't been that many fossilized human continues to be got here upon (fossils are often older than 10,000) years. different human continues to be would only be historic. also, it would count number upon what style of fossil. i'd commence with carbon relationship, and if there is no carbon (or one of those small fraction of it) it would mean that that is in all likelihood older than 70,000 years and also you should attempt some thing else like potassium-argon.

Answer 6

By using carbon-13 isotopes.

Answer 7

i agree with the first answer, but other wise if we are talking ancient - carbon dating, otherwise there is certian rates at which the body decays, variable on the envirmental conditions - thats all i can tell you, after this point it gets complicated.

Answer 8

By radio carbon dating.It is by using carbon-14 atom.

Answer 9

I would love to help you, but I only date women.

Answer 10

carbon dating.