ISSN: 0022-1198
CODEN: JFSCA
Page Count: 7

Forensic DNA Testing on Skeletal Remains from Mass Graves: A Pilot Project in Guatemala
Snow, CC
Forensic Anthropology Consultant, OK

Stover, E
Executive Director, Physicians for Human Rights, MA

Boles, TC
Assistant Professor of Biochemistry, Brandeis University, MA

(Received 16 June 1994; accepted 30 September 1994)

Abstract

A reliable method for extracting DNA from teeth was developed and successfully applied to a set of 12 skeletons recovered from two 10-year-old Guatemalan mass graves. Attempts to identify the remains by mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) testing were hampered by low sequence diversity. Our findings demonstrate the feasibility of using DNA typing to identify victims from mass graves.

Keywords:
physical anthropology, DNA, human identification, mass graves

Paper ID: JFS13786J
DOI: 10.1520/JFS13786J
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