U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Back to the OSAC Lexicon

Provenance

a place or origin; specifically, the area from which the constituent materials of a sedimentary rock or facies are derived, also, the rocks of which this area is composed. 

Adapted from Ref (3) 3.1.4.1 

Discussion—In the context of forensic provenance examination, geological material is analyzed and interpreted to estimate or limit the geographic or environmental conditions of the source of this material to provide an investigative lead. For example, soil on a shovel can be examined to aid in the search for a clandestine grave, typically by comparison of observa- tions to reference data. “Geographic attribution” is an alterna- tive term for provenance.

Committee
Trace Materials
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/ASTM E3272-23 Standard Guide for Collection of Soils and Other Geological Evidence for Criminal Forensic Applications. ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, PA 19428, 2023. Source link
Reprinted, with permission, from ASTM, copyright ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, PA 19428. A copy of the complete standard may be purchased from ASTM International, https://www.astm.org