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Are the red-brown stains blood?

Asked 26 Oct 2026 by ·Part of How was the image made?·3 answers·0·0 following
Most likely: the stains are bloodAhead on the evidence, not yet confirmed. It needs two reviews to be accepted.

Where it stands

Three answers have been proposed. The stains are blood. leads, with evidence 1 for, 1 against: partly supported by its tests. Two are still possible.

Why it matters

Two analyses of the same 1978 tape samples disagree⁠[1]⁠[2]; blood would bear on the body reading, pigment on the artistic one.

Answers 3

The stains are blood.
Partly supported by its tests
Evidence: 1 for, 1 against
Most likely
None of these.
Not tested enough to call either way
Evidence: none yet
Still possible
The stains are pigment (red ochre and vermilion).
Tested, but the results don't decide it
Evidence: 1 for
Disputed

History

  1. Heller & Adler puts forward: the stains are blood.
  2. Heller & Adler: chemical tests identified blood components.For: The stains are blood.
  3. McCrone puts forward: the stains are pigment (red ochre and vermilion).
  4. McCrone: microscopy of the tapes reports iron oxide and vermilion.For: The stains are pigment (red ochre and vermilion).
  5. Barcaccia et al.: dNA from dust shows many human lineages, so contamination is pervasive.Against: The stains are blood.
  6. Asked on this site
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