Which statement about stable isotope analysis is NOT true?

• A. It can inform about geographic origin and travel history
• B. It provides probabilistic information that should be contextualized
• C. It can determine an exact time of death
• D. It reflects dietary signatures

Answer: (D)

Stable isotope analysis provides information about the environment and diet reflected in tissues, but it does not give an exact timestamp for death. The isotopic composition of tissues records where someone lived and what they ate during tissue formation, making it useful for inferring geographic origin and travel history, and for identifying dietary signatures such as the types of plants or the trophic level in a diet. Because baselines and overlaps between regions, dietary practices, and tissue formation times vary, these inferences are probabilistic and must be contextualized with other evidence. The idea that it can determine an exact time of death is not supported by the method; timing in forensic cases typically relies on other approaches, such as taphonomic indicators or radiometric dating of tissues formed at known times.