by Jessica Zarate, Research Scientist/Assistant Professor, Department of Forensic Science, Madonna University
The Sullivan Museum and History Center at Norwich University, Vermont had in their collection a 15th century suit of samurai armor brought to the United States from the far East by returning servicemen. The armor presumed to have been worn by a 15th century samurai consisted of a fabric gorget with metal beading (Figures 1 (frontside) and 2 (backside), armor chest (Figures 3 (frontside), 4 (backside), and 5 (opened)) and a leather skirt. The gorget had a noticeable defect in the center area between the metal beading and the fabric cushion, the fabric was discolored and was wearing thin and abraded in several locations.
There were visible reddish-brown stains in numerous locations on the gorget, armor and skirt when assessed under normal lighting conditions (Figures 1-5), posing the question as to whether these stains were blood. The museum worked with a local detective to test the stain using phenolphthalein, but the test failed to provide a presumptive positive for blood. This result was not surprising given the phenolphthalein test reacts with the heme component in blood which would be degraded after 700 years. Thus, the Zar-Pro Fluorescent Lifters were utilized for the detection of possible blood on the armor.
Zar-Pro Lifters have been used to effectively lift and fluoresce aged blood impressions, even when latent or not visible under normal lighting conditions. Prior to applying the Zar-Pro Lifters, the armor was assessed using alternate lighting (505 nm visualized with an orange barrier filter) to detect the possible presence of blood.
Generally, blood will darken when visualized under alternate lighting, allowing for the visualization of potential blood staining on the armor. This occurrence was readily visualized when assessing the backside leather beading of the gorget (Figure 6), as the center and right side produced a fluorescent signal (Figure 7) whereas the left side darkened (Figure 8), thus indicating the possibility of blood staining. The front of the gorget was also visualized under alternate lighting (Figure 9) with the right-side darkening, this is most evident on the leather knotting, again indicating the possibility of blood. There were also darkened areas indicating the possibility of blood in areas of the fabric cushion of the gorget (Figures 6-8), however the fluorescent background signal from the stuffing in the gorget coupled with the degradation of the fabric made it more difficult to assess this area.
The most notable difference in detection under normal and alternate lighting was seen on the buckles of the chest armor. The leather of the buckle area appeared similar under normal lighting (Figures 3, 5, 10, and 11) but produced drastically different signals when visualized alternate lighting (Figures 12 and 13) with the right-side darkening under alternate lighting (Figure 12) indicating the possible presence of blood. These differences were also observed on the leather skirt with possible blood stains darkening (Figure 14) and areas without biological materials fluorescing (Figure 15) when visualized under alternate lighting.
Based on these designated darkened areas visualized under alternate lighting, various locations on the armor were determined to be suitable for application of the Zar-Pro Lifters.
Pictured is an application of the lifter to the darkened area on the fabric of the gorget (Figure 16). Some visible reddish blood coloration was lifted and could be visible on the lifter under normal lighting conditions (Figure 17) and consistent to the recovery of blood, the lifted proteinaceous stains fluoresced under alternate lighting (Figure 18). Several areas of the armor had darkened areas indicating the possibility of blood, such as the leather strap on the buckle (Figure 19) which was lifted and fluoresced on the lifter (Figure 20).
Possible blood was also detected inside the armor (Figure 21) and proteinaceous materials were lifted and observed on the Zar-Pro Lifter even under normal lighting (Figure 22). The ability of the lifters to bond to proteinaceous materials and lift them from the armor substrates allowed for improved visualization under both normal and alternate lighting (505 nm range using an orange barrier filter) providing a presumptive positive indication for the presence of blood.
Samples collected from the armor and Zar-Pro Lifters were brought back to Madonna University for subsequent analysis of the indicated blood stains. DNA extractions were performed to confirm the presence of human biological materials from both direct swabs and cuttings of the Lifters, likely from blood. As a result, Zar-Pro Lifters were effectively used as a presumptive positive for blood and can be used to recover and visualize blood stains that are believed to be around 700 years old.