Mapping Human Migrations, Past and Present: Developing Environmental Isotope and Trace Element Maps of Mexico and Central America

Summary

This is an abstract from the "The Intersection of Archaeological Science and Forensic Science" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Thousands of clandestine migrants die every year while traversing the hostile terrain of the United States/Mexico border. Most of these individuals go unidentified, leaving families in a desperate search for answers regarding their loved one’s whereabouts. Rural counties along the South Texas Borderlands lack resources for full forensic documentation, investigation, and identification of poorly preserved human remains. In such cases traditional methods and even DNA studies are unproductive. Our team is developing a dual-language, open-access, geospatial database of environmental isoscapes and trace element distributions that will facilitate the research of future archaeologists, public health researchers, wildlife ecologists, conservation scientists, and innumerable other Latin American scholars. Our goal is (1) to advance modern forensic investigations and humanitarian repatriation of human remains from Texas and other US border states and (2) to accelerate scientific studies of past and present human migration, health, and landscape transformation.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• The Intersection of Archaeological Science and Forensic Science   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37791.0