| As an organic material, hair contains substantial biological information but is underutilized as a
resource for research and forensic investigations. The internal and external structure of hair
varies in pattern, shape, and size according to function and care practices. Microscopy is a useful
method for taxonomic identification of animal hair and characterization of human hair.
Microscopic analyses, including optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy
(SEM), offer highly-resolved imaging of hair size, condition, surface residues, cuticle scale
pattern, and internal structure. This project employs lengthwise morphological analyses using
both OM and SEM imaging focused on structural differences that assist in classification. For
animals, this involves taxonomic identification of hair at the family or species level. For human
hair, the analysis is focused on cataloging basic characteristics affected by lifestyle decisions.
This work establishes a multi-dimensional resource of both human and North American
mammalian faunal hair specimens with applications in environmental sciences and wildlife
conservation, archaeological research, and forensic investigation. That resource will include a
comparative hair collection that will be permanently housed at Idaho State University designed
for long-term research accessibility with an updated and inclusive classification system and will
be a valuable reference tool for future cross-disciplinary research and medico-legal investigation.
Keywords: hair, optical microscope, scanning electron microscope, cuticle, medulla, biological
anthropology |