Is X-ray diffraction able to distinguish between animal and human bones?

► Our study compare apatite lattice parameters to check differences between species. ► We use powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique on 95 burned specimens. ► Lattice parameters data has been carried out according to the Rietveld method. ► The lattice parameter were shown to depend from the chemical composition. ► Our results reject the possibility to distinguish human from animal bones.