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Fingerprint identification on a bog body (650 BC)

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Abstract

Two thousand and six hundred fifty years after the death of the “Girl of the Uchter Moor”, it was still possible to secure good-quality fingerprints from the right hand of this bog body by using photographic methods followed by image enhancement with an Automated Fingerprint Identification System. A detailed fingerprint analysis was performed, and all five fingers of “Moora's” right hand exhibited ulnar loops. Even today, this is still the most common fingerprint pattern type in Europe. It was also possible to find enough minutiae on the right thumb for secure dactyloscopic identification after more than 2,000 years. The example of “Moora" therefore demonstrates new possibilities for future fingerprint examinations of ancient bodies in archaeological as well as forensic casework.

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Notes

  1. The camera used to take the photographs of the fingers was a Nikon D80 with 50-, 100- and 200-mm macro lenses. A 50-mm/f1.8 portrait lens with +6 close-up lenses was also used. The images were produced with 10 Megapixel/raw.

  2. A Nikon SB-800 was used.

  3. The PhotoShop program, version CS3 Extended, from Adobe, and the image processing routines of the DERMALOG AFIS, version 3.1, were used for processing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. DERMALOG Identification Systems GmbH, Hamburg, Germany

    Günther Mull

  2. Institut für Rechtsmedizin, Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany

    Klaus Püschel & Eilin Jopp

  3. Dermalog/Institute for Dermatoglyphics, Mittelweg 120, 20148, Hamburg, Germany

    Günther Mull

  4. Department of Legal Medicine, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Butenfeld 34, 22529, Hamburg, Germany

    Klaus Püschel

Authors
  1. Günther Mull
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  2. Klaus Püschel
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  3. Eilin Jopp
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Correspondence to Günther Mull.

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Mull, G., Püschel, K. & Jopp, E. Fingerprint identification on a bog body (650 BC). Archaeol Anthropol Sci 3, 201–207 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-011-0053-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-011-0053-4

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