Age-At-Death Estimation

The aim of this study is to validate the FIDBv2 online procedure for adult age-at-death estimation using root dentine translucency (RDT) and periodontal retraction (PR) of single-rooted teeth in a worldwide sample. The sample includes 4810 teeth of 2559 individuals from 16 countries of America, Europe and Asia. Bias and inaccuracy between documented (DA) and estimated ages (EA) were calculated. Pearson and Intraclass Correlation Coefficients were computed to assess the strength of agreement between pairs of data, while Kolmogorov-Smirnov Z was used to evaluate the statistical significance of the differences. The percentages of correctly estimated cases within different age ranges were obtained to find trends in the reliability of the results. Most of the biases (-4.61-1.31 years) and inaccuracies (4.81-9.72 years) are low. The dispersion of EA increases with age and almost all the DA-EA correlations are above 0.75. DA-RDT and DA-PR correlations are positive, most of the former being high (0.74-0.91), and the latter being low (0.11-0.54). The highest percentages of correct estimations are identified for the ±7.5 and ±10 years ranges, and most comparisons of bias and inaccuracy between countries are non-significant. The high correlations between DA and EA suggest that the method is robust and reliable for a global application. Mean errors are low, with the best results found in the 30-69-year-old cohort. This research supports that the method is effective and accurate for age estimation in forensic contexts worldwide, thus reaffirming it is a generalizable procedure locally and internationally.

Bone histomorphometry refers to the study of the structure and microscopic features of bone tissue. It involves the measurement and assessment of bone microanatomy, and it provides valuable information on bone properties. Through the application of histomorphometry, researchers can acquire information on bone metabolism and on remodeling dynamics, which is useful to the study of bone health. During the last 50 years, biological anthropologists have adopted the use of histomorphometry while examining issues specific to human health and evolutionary trends from prehistoric remains. Scientists coming from the medical field have applied histomorphometry in their research as it allows the study of bone changes, useful to describe pathological conditions among these ancient human remains. This paper reflects on some of the research that involves histomorphometric analysis specific to diet and health, forensic anthropology, taphonomic assessment of bone, non-human primate research and biomechanics. The purpose of the paper is to consider past and future applications of bone histomorphometry to enable a discussion which might direct research towards under-explored areas of bone biology. For example, looking at renewed interest in clavicular histology and stimulating investigations that focus on osteocyte density. Additionally, a discussion is offered concerning OPD values used to correlate chronological age to biological age estimations.

Aims: This study compared histomorphometric and micromorphological features of the femoral cortex in humans and sheep (Ovis aries) for accurate forensic species identification, particularly in cases involving fragmented skeletal remains.

Study Design: Comparative histomorphometric study.

Place and Duration of Study: Department of Human Anatomy, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria, with bone collection and analysis conducted between January and June 2024.

Methodology: Thirty femoral midshaft samples were analyzed, consisting of 15 human and 15 sheep specimens. Samples were processed using the Modified Frost technique, sectioned, mounted, and examined under a Leica ICC 50K photomicroscope. Histomorphometric parameters including osteon count, osteon diameter, and Haversian canal dimensions were measured using ImageJ software. Independent t-tests (P = .05) were applied to assess species differences.

Results: Significant differences were observed in secondary osteon count, osteon fragments, and Haversian canal dimensions (P < .001), with human femoral cortices showing higher remodeling activity and larger vascular channels. No significant difference was found in primary osteon count (p = 0.82). Micromorphologically, humans’ femoral cortices exhibited irregularly arranged secondary osteons, numerous osteon fragments, and well-developed Haversian and Volkmann’s canals. Sheep femoral cortices displayed a more organized plexiform pattern with fewer secondary osteons and smaller canals, indicating reduced remodeling activity.

Conclusion: Key histomorphometric and micromorphological features reliably differentiate humans from sheep femoral bone. These findings support the applic​ation of histomorphometric and quali​ta​tive analys‍i​s as effective tools in forensic ant​hr‌opol​ogy f​or spe‍cies ide​ntifi​cation and contribute to the⁠ development​t of region sp​ecific⁠ forensic bone reference data.

The main aim of this study is to present a novel method of nonadult (ca. 1-19 years) age-at-death estimation using the dental wear of deciduous, mixed deciduouspermanent, and permanent dentitions, including the incisors, canines, premolars, and first and second molars. The stage-based method is derived from degrees of dental wear in known-age (n = 39) and estimated-age (n = 11) nonadults containing 951 teeth from the predominately 19th century cemetery of Middenbeemster, The Netherlands. The need for such a method is warranted in cases where dental development and/or eruption cannot be assessed for age-at-death estimation. As well, by establishing a baseline for normal age-related nonadult tooth wear, users may better document wear that could be due to extramasticatory behaviours. The regression analysis reveals a strong quadratic correlation-F (2, 47) = 555.1, p < .001, R 2 = .95, standard error of the estimate = 1.14, residual sum of squares (RSS) = 68.89, predicted residual error sum of squares (PRESS) = 77.67-between age and wear and multivariate adaptive regression splines (R 2 = .95, generalised cross validation = 1.67, RSS = 67.68, PRESS = 89.34), which are used to develop an Rpackage that users may employ to estimate age-at-death from dental wear. The accuracy of this method (78-98%) is evaluated using leave-one-out cross-validation. Analyses of males versus females, deciduous versus permanent, upper versus lower, and anterior versus posterior teeth revealed no apparent reason to warrant separate methods for these groups of separated dentitions. This method fills a disciplinary gap in the understudied area of deciduous and nonadult dental wear and hopes to stimulate much future research. With the R-package, we also provide the foundation and framework for the development of additional reference populations across different spatiotemporal contexts, to make the method more widely applicable.

En vue d'estimer la structure par âge des populations du passé en ne disposant que d'indicateurs biologiques, les paléodémographes ont développé un certain nombre de méthodes, utilisant une population de référence pour apprécier les probabilités conditionnelles de l'âge connaissant l'indicateur. Compte tenu du faible nombre de données disponibles et du caractère instable du problème, ces méthodes sont en général décevantes. Nous montrons comment les améliorer en introduisant une méthode bayésienne simple intégrant un maximum d'informations non réductibles aux données proprement dites.

Background/Objectives: Age estimation is of fundamental importance in forensic investigations. When traditional methods based on gross bone morphology or morphometric analysis cannot be applied, forensic experts must rely on multidisciplinary approaches. Histomorphometry has consistently proven to be reliable in cases of highly fragmented or incomplete skeletal remains, particularly in older individuals. Building on the foundational study of Amprino and Bairati, this study evaluated the correlations between bone microstructural features in femoral cross-sections and the age and sex of individuals. Methods: The sample comprised 95 femoral mid-diaphyseal thin sections obtained from autopsy specimens housed at the Institute of Legal Medicine, University of Bari (Italy), representing both male and female individuals aged 18 to 92 years. The numbers and densities of primary, intact secondary, and fragmentary secondary osteons, together with osteon circularity and the mean osteonal area, were measured to investigate age-related variation. Statistical analyses included t-tests, Mann-Whitney tests, Spearman's rank correlation, and General Linear Models (GLMs). Results: No significant differences in histomorphometric variables were observed between males and females. However, the number of intact secondary osteons and osteon population density increased with age, while the mean osteonal area and osteon circularity decreased with age. Although some variables displayed significant correlations with age, residual analysis indicated a lack of heterogeneity in variance, which limited the development of a robust predictive model. Conclusions: The findings highlight both the potential and the limitations of histomorphometry in forensic age estimation. While certain microstructural variables correlate with age, inter-individual variability reduces predictive accuracy. Further research is needed to refine models that account for biological and biomechanical variability, particularly in older adults.

Since the publication of Lamendin’s age estimation technique, the root dentin translucency has received increasing attention as an important indicator of age. Recently, Parra and colleagues presented the Forensic International Dental Database (FIDB), a proposal to estimate age at death in adults based on Bayes theorem by applying the criteria of Lamendin’s technique. The present study aims to update the procedure and to evaluate a new version of the method (named FIDBv2) using two control samples from Colombia and Greece. The performance of this new version was acceptable and suggests that the method is suitable for age at death estimation in adult individuals from different forensic contexts. The
best approximations to chronological age were obtained for individuals between 30 and 60 years old, with errors less than 10 years. The age estimations calculated on control samples suggest the adequate performance of FIDBv2 on individuals from varied populations. It can be stated that the FIDBv2 constitutes a solid alternative to be used in contexts where no additional data are available. Here we reinforce the initial idea that this model for estimating age at death in adults may be generalizable to any forensic context in the world.

Население Армении в эпоху раннего средневековья (по биоархеологическим данным Агаракского могильника) В статье обсуждаются результаты комплексного антрополо гического анализа скелетных останков из Агарака. Для демографической харак теристики использован перечень из 30 половозраст ных определений. Средняя продолжительность жизни составила 21,5 лет и входит в категорию популяций, характеризуемых высокой смерт ностью. Большая плотность населения, экологическая обстановка приводили к высокой смертности детского населения, а также распространению заболеваний, вызванных нарушением обмена веществ и инфекциями.

When a new method is produced, it should be assessed for accuracy and reliability before widespread use. A new method by Falys and Prangle for estimating age from degeneration of the sternal end of the clavicle is tested in this paper on an 18th–19th‐century known‐age Dutch population (80 clavicles). Intra‐ and inter‐observer tests (Cohen&#39;s kappa) revealed slight to moderate agreement (k = 0.100–0.425 and 0.106–0.534 respectively). However, owing to large age ranges, 87% accuracy was achieved. Methodological improvements are suggested that could help the method further to improve age estimates for the elderly in past populations.

Previous applications of empirical palaeodemographic methods on Early Medieval English skeletal samples are minimal, likely due to factors including demographic sample bias. Recent improvements to palaeodemographic estimations, however, have focused on ways in which some biased samples can still be meaningfully investigated. This study incorporates the D0-14/D and D15-49/D15+ models for estimating fertility and to also detect possible underenumeration of age cohorts in a skeletal sample. The early Anglo-Saxon skeletal sample Worthy Park, Kingsworthy is used for this demonstration, as the representative nature of the population sample is already questioned. Results indicate that the Early Medieval people represented within this sample are estimated to have a moderate to high fertility rate (4.328-7.156) over the 200-years of cemetery use. The results also confirm likely demographic under-representation within the sample; with the pre-adult age-at-death cohort (i.e. 0-14 years) most affected. Through stepped manipulation of the age-at-death distribution, it is hypothesised that there is also under-representation of older adults (50+ years) in the sample. The archaeological context of Early Medieval England is also considered alongside these results, with evidence to suggest that the local Anglo-Saxon settlement, who primarily used the Worthy Park cemetery, may have seen more higher-yield agricultural practices earlier than other regions, or at least the demographic effects of immigration. This article provides an in-depth case study, demonstrating the use of how coordinating fertility models and pre-existing archaeological context can further strengthen the palaeodemographic assessment of skeletal samples despite possible underrepresentation.

The main aim of this study is to present a novel method of nonadult (ca. 1-19 years) age-at-death estimation using the dental wear of deciduous, mixed deciduouspermanent, and permanent dentitions, including the incisors, canines, premolars, and first and second molars. The stage-based method is derived from degrees of dental wear in known-age (n = 39) and estimated-age (n = 11) nonadults containing 951 teeth from the predominately 19th century cemetery of Middenbeemster, The Netherlands. The need for such a method is warranted in cases where dental development and/or eruption cannot be assessed for age-at-death estimation. As well, by establishing a baseline for normal age-related nonadult tooth wear, users may better document wear that could be due to extramasticatory behaviours. The regression analysis reveals a strong quadratic correlation-F (2, 47) = 555.1, p < .001, R 2 = .95, standard error of the estimate = 1.14, residual sum of squares (RSS) = 68.89, predicted residual error sum of squares (PRESS) = 77.67-between age and wear and multivariate adaptive regression splines (R 2 = .95, generalised cross validation = 1.67, RSS = 67.68, PRESS = 89.34), which are used to develop an Rpackage that users may employ to estimate age-at-death from dental wear. The accuracy of this method (78-98%) is evaluated using leave-one-out cross-validation. Analyses of males versus females, deciduous versus permanent, upper versus lower, and anterior versus posterior teeth revealed no apparent reason to warrant separate methods for these groups of separated dentitions. This method fills a disciplinary gap in the understudied area of deciduous and nonadult dental wear and hopes to stimulate much future research. With the R-package, we also provide the foundation and framework for the development of additional reference populations across different spatiotemporal contexts, to make the method more widely applicable.

Paleoradiology uses CT scanning, digital radiography, and 3D imaging to noninvasively characterize the lives and the experience of health and disease for past people. This paper presents an analysis of micro-CT scans of leprosy in three archaeological maxillae from Dahwa, Oman (2500-2000 BCE) to characterize the natural history of disease progression on an ultra-structural level and address environmental and social factors that shaped the experience of health in Arabia during the Bronze Age. The human skeletal remains from Bronze Age Oman present a challenge for paleopathological analysis because they are fragmentary and commingled. We demonstrate microstructural characteristics of lesions in the ventral maxilla and palate that are strongly consistent with a diagnosis of lepromatous leprosy (e.g., atrophy of the anterior nasal spine, resorption of the medial alveolar process, deterioration of the piriform aperture margin, and atrophy of the nasal septum) and the utility of micro-CT for non-invasively characterizing pathology in isolated maxilla from fragmentary, commingled archaeological contexts. The presence of disfigurement, probably resulting from leprosy, in this community provides new evidence about the early migrations of pathogens responsible for leprosy, which despite being an ancient disease is still relatively poorly understood.

The reconstruction and subsequent rescue archaeological excavation in the baroque chapel of St Barbara in the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Přeštice has resulted in the discovery of one atypical burial in a small bricked vault. The vault contained skeletal remains in a very poor state of preservation. The discovery of the skeletal remains in the chapel was unexpected given the absence of any signs of a grave being present. In this article we describe the attempt to identify the person to whom
the skeletal remains belong. Based on anthropological analysis, these remains were interpreted as probably female over 50 years of age. By combining archaeological context, anthropological analysis and historical sources, the skeleton was interpreted as the remains of Marie Anna Lindauer, a resident of Pilsen and the mother of Josef Ondřej Lindauer, the dean in Přeštice and the bishop in Budweis.

Emphasises the importance of the investigation of ancient teeth to the study of anthropology, archaeology and forensics. Discusses the wide range of analytical techniques that are now available to investigate recent and ancient teeth. Highlights the extent of the information that can be unlocked from teeth and dental calculus.

Age at death is one of the key elements of the "biological profile" prepared when analysing unidentified human remains. Biological age is determined according to physiological indicators and developmental stage, which can be determined by bone assessment. It is worth remembering that the researcher must interpret each case individually and in accordance with the current state of knowledge. One of the most developed tools for analysing human remains is postmortem computed tomography. This allows for the visualization not only of bones without maceration but also of the entire body under various altered states, including corpses in advanced stages of decomposition and burnt bodies. The aim of this review is to present the current methods for age estimation based on postmortem computed tomography evaluation, comparing the results presented in 18 research projects published between 2013 and 2023 on foetuses, children, and adults from contemporary populations. Recent literature includes assessment of bones and characteristics such as skulls, teeth, vertebrae, pelvises, and long bones to estimate age at death. We cover the methods used in this recent literature, including machine learning, and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of them. Key points • Postmortem computed tomography allows the analysis of several areas of the body at the same time, which may not be possible in the case of clinical trials (where the examination area should be limited). • Postmortem computed tomography may enable the collection of data from people whose clinical examinations are relatively rare (e.g., pregnant women, children). • Artificial intelligence should increasingly be used in studies on age estimation. • Further research on modern populations is necessary to verify and refine the methods used to estimate age at death.

Age-at-death estimation is a difficult task in fragmented or incomplete contexts. The generation and testing of methods are needed to identify their potential application in different types of osteological samples. This paper proposes a new method for age estimation using the first rib. Four hundred and fifteen individuals from the Coimbra Identified Skeletal Collections (Portugal) were studied; the sample was divided in two groups (reference and test samples), used to develop the procedure and to evaluate its reliability. The three rib joints and two variables (surface texture and topography, and periarticular margins and subsidence of the surface) were recorded. Statistical analyses were performed to test the procedure reproducibility, and side and sex variations. Posterior probabilities were calculated following Bayesian statistics and used to estimate the most likely age-at-death in the test sample. The results show the reproducibility of the method is adequate, left and right ribs can be indistinctly recorded, and both sexes show similar change patterns. The costal face and the head epiphyseal region offered satisfactory results and the percentages of correct estimations are greater for younger individuals, decreasing as ages-at-death are higher. This method is more effective among individuals in the 20–50 years cohort; nevertheless, it also offered satisfactory estimates in older ones. Overestimations in individuals younger than 40 years and underestimations in individuals older than 75 years were identified. In conclusion, the first rib offer adequate estimates when a basic probabilistic approach is chosen. Whenever possible, this proposal must be included in a multifactorial perspective with other age markers.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a marker of degeneration within the skeleton, frequently associated with age. This study quantifies the correlation between OA and age‐at‐death and investigates the utility of shoulder OA as a forensic age indicator using a modern North American sample of 206 individuals. Lipping, surface porosity, osteophyte formation, eburnation, and percentage of joint surface affected were recorded on an ordinal scale and summed to create composite scores that were assigned a specific phase. Spearman&#39;s correlation indicated a positive relationship between each composite score and age (right shoulder = 0.752; left shoulder = 0.734). Transition analysis revealed a tendency toward earlier degeneration of the right shoulder. Bayesian statistics generated phase‐related age estimates based on highest posterior density regions. Best age estimates were into the seventh decade at the 90th and 50th percentile. The proposed method supplements traditional techniques by providing a...

Age estimation of skeletal remains is often biased due to differences between the age structure of the target sample and that of the reference population on which a particular method is based. This study analyzes a documented series of 130 skulls using the Meindl-Lovejoy method to compare of several age estimation algorithms trained on reference samples with varying demographic profiles. The results demonstrate that the estimated mean age of the test series systematically depends on the mean age of individuals in the reference group. A new algorithm is proposed that incorporates multiple regression models, each trained on a reference group with a specific age distribution. The algorithm selects the most appropriate model for each case based on a preliminary age estimate of the skeleton; however, this estimate is not used as an explicit predictor in the final model. The proposed method shows relatively high accuracy compared to both the phase-based Meindl-Lovejoy approach and several modern techniques. Estimates generated by the algorithm from primary data collected by different researchers also show a good level of interobserver agreement.

Imprecise data produced by commonly applied osteological age-at-death estimations profoundly affect all research on age-dependent mortality in past societies. With uncertain death estimation (UCD), we propose a novel approach to estimating the mortality structure from imprecise data and present a corresponding R package for simple application. Through repeated random sampling of imprecise age-at-death ranges, UCD estimates the mortality structure of a given skeletal sample. We demonstrate the applicability of UCD in a proof-of-principle study on two samples with known age at death (Bass-Mercyhurst Collection and Coimbra Identified Skeletal Collection). Two case studies of German Neolithic skeletal material illustrate UCD's applicability to archeological samples with dissimilar states of preservation. To comparatively quantify the accuracy of UCD, maximum likelihood estimations, Kaplan–Meier survival estimations, and age-category mortality profiles were calculated for all four study samples. UCD outperforms similar existing procedures while incorporating the uncertainty inherent in osteological data. The proof-of-principle study produced significantly more accurate mortality profiles from UCD than from maximum likelihood estimation and Kaplan–Meier survival estimation. Both archeological case studies indicate UCD's ability to provide meaningful new insight into age-dependent mortality in past societies. UCD allows for comparative studies into age-dependent mortality in past societies without requiring a large sample of precise age-at-death estimations. UCD provides an opportunity for fast and simple analysis of mortality structures on a large dataset without neglecting the information contained in the raw data, thereby facilitating a critical study of patterns in age-dependent mortality on a large scale.

This study aims to present an unusual example of a rare skeletal pathology known as Eagle Syndrome (ES), or Megastyloid, and to contribute to the fields of Forensic Anthropology, Physical Anthropology, Paleoanthropology, Osteoarchaeology, Paleopathology by drawing attention to the importance and potential of bone pathology in anthropological studies. The material of this study consists of 220 human skeletons, 160 male and 60 female, of known Cypriot origin, brought to the Forensic Medicine Unit of Dr. Burhan Nalbantoğlu State Hospital in Nicosia, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, between 2011-2024 for examination. Only a male individual between the ages of 30-35 exhibited bilateral elongated styloid processes, which had a maximum length of 6.52 cm from base to tip, was evaluated as Gigantic Eagle Syndrome. The subject, discussions, and results of this study are important in terms of drawing attention to the high potential of skeletal pathology in forensic and biological examinations.

The sternal surface of the 4th rib has been suggested as a useful predictor of age estimation. Morphologic methods are fast and easy to use for purpose of age determination. The sternal ends of the ribs are a reliable method of age estimation from younger to old age. Iscan et al developed a phase analysis method for the right 4th rib that was sex and race specific. The purpose of this study is to determine the accuracy of the standards of age estimation from the left 4th in comparison to right fourth rib using the phase analysis for the Indian population. The sample consisted of right and left 4th ribs from 63 female and 101 males. Comparison of phase variation between right and left fourth ribs indicates that the average of an individual's phase score in males is not significantly different in either the left or right rib.

This is the first article of the series with the analysis of all known to-date data on the dental health of the historical adult population of Tver (11th-18th centuries, European Russia). Report 1 covers the temporal and gender-related aspects of caries and the lack of wisdom teeth.

Аннотация. В работе приводятся сведения о поле и возрасте умерших из трех некрополей одной локальной области Армении-Лори. Серии, привлеченные для анализа, включают скелетные останки 134 индивидов. Все три некрополя показали различные результаты по средней продолжительности жизни, детской смертности, пикам смертности. Они отличаются процентным соотношением мужчин и женщин и представительностью финальной возрастной когорты. Сходство лишь в общей тенденции-малой смертности детей и доживаемости мужчин до старческого возраста. Могильники имеют отличительные признаки: высокий средний возраст смерти и средние значения возраста смерти без учета детей. Межгрупповой анализ проведен с использованием метода главных компонент многомерной статистики. К сериям из провинции Лори наиболее близки более ранние выборки хвалынской и трипольской культур. Ключевые слова: Армения, эпоха поздней бронзы и раннего железного века, археология, палеодемография, некрополь, возрастная когорта, средняя продолжительность жизни, процент детской смертности, пик смертности.

Archaeology is a science combining numerous skills in a multidisciplinary approach. In the presence of human remains, its objectives are the recovery, identification, and analysis on an anthropological purpose to reconstruct the context of the individual's past lives. One of these approaches is in the forensic medicine sciences whose main purpose is the identification of human bodies through bones and teeth in deteriorated corpses. Archaeology and forensic medicine are therefore two intertwined sciences. The goal of this bibliographical review is to summarize the first steps to reconstruct the biological profile of a person using teeth as an object of study. Beginning by explaining the preservation and the type of the tooth sample, then by assessing the two most important biological factors being the sex and the age. This study does not cover all the existing tooth forensic aspects, but the most used one and the promising methods for archaeological context.

Archaeology is a science combining numerous skills in a multidisciplinary approach. In the presence of human remains, its objectives are the recovery, identification, and analysis on an anthropological purpose to reconstruct the context of the individual's past lives. One of these approaches is in the forensic medicine sciences whose main purpose is the identification of human bodies through bones and teeth in deteriorated corpses. Archaeology and forensic medicine are therefore two intertwined sciences. The goal of this bibliographical review is to summarize the first steps to reconstruct the biological profile of a person using teeth as an object of study. Beginning by explaining the preservation and the type of the tooth sample, then by assessing the two most important biological factors being the sex and the age. This study does not cover all the existing tooth forensic aspects, but the most used one and the promising methods for archaeological context.

As a result of archaeological studies, a large series of anthropological material was obtained, which made it possible to characterize in detail the characteristics of the Russian Astrakhan population in the XVI–XX centuries. A paleodemographic analysis was carried out using materials from the necropolis of the XVI–XIX centuries from the Annunciation Monastery in Astrakhan. The methodology of J.Angel (1969) was used. The total number of individuals was 350. 270 skeletons belonged to adults, 80 – to children. This group was characterized by a rather high average life expectancy (29.3 years), a low percentage of child mortality (22.9%), including in the first year of life. The first peak of mortality occurred in the 0–5 age cohort, the second – at the age of 30–35 years. In general, the authors can ascertain the phenomenon of relative demographic well-being in the study group.

The accurate estimation of age is considered important from an ethical, legal and archaeological perspective. Among the numerous methods based on macroscopic skeletal studies for age estimation, the Brooks and Suchey (1990) method for aging from the pubic symphysis and the Buckberry and Chamberlain (2002) method for aging from the auricular surface are considered more reliable. However, both these methods have been derived from American populations. Therefore, the following study aimed to assess the accuracy of the estimation of age-at-death from morphological age related changes seen on the pubic symphysis and the auricular surface in a black South African population. A total of 197 individuals of known age of both sexes using both left and right ossa coxae were investigated. Age was estimated using descriptions stipulated by Brooks and Suchey (1990) and Buckberry and Chamberlain (2002). Correlation coefficients, inaccuracies and bias were calculated for both skeletal elements for both sexes and sides. Inaccuracies and bias were lower in the pubic symphysis than in the auricular surface thus making the pubic symphysis a more reliable age estimator. Similarly, males indicated lower inaccuracies and bias than did females. Overall, the pubic symphysis outperformed the auricular surface, even though the method described by Buckberry and Chamberlain (2002) is considered more reliable. It is advised that these two methods be improved to produce better accuracies, particularly when applying the methods to a black South African population.

This contribution presents the first application of micro-computed tomography (µCT) to study pathological mineral defects associated with the vitamin D deficiency, namely interglobular dentine (IGD), within the mineral matrix of archaeological teeth from three French medieval cases. To date, such an approach has only been used once in a clinical setting. Through this work, we evaluate potential benefits of this alternative approach and the contribution such work could make to anthropological debates, through analysis of rare teeth of human or non-human fossils or teeth of individuals where more destructive techniques cannot be applied.

El objetivo de este trabajo es evaluar las características del registro bioarqueológico y los patrones de preservación diferencial de los elementos óseos y dentales de individuos no-adultos en el curso inferior del río Colorado. A partir de la información cuantitativa, sexo-etaria y tafonómica se discuten las causas que intervinieron en la representación de partes esqueletarias y su relación con el cambio en las prácticas funerarias durante el Holoceno tardío. Se analizaron 743 unidades anatómicas correspondientes a 28 individuos que fueron recuperados en cuatro sitios arqueológicos, con cronologías que se ubican entre los ca. 1400-500 años AP. Se registró una baja representación de partes esqueletarias de individuos inmaduros, independientemente de la edad de muerte y el sexo. Si bien algunos factores como la baja densidad mineral ósea que caracteriza a las unidades anatómicas y la acción de procesos tafonómicos (e.g., actividad de raíces, acción de maquinarias) pudieron dañar su integridad, los resultados obtenidos no explican la ausencia de un elevado porcentaje de elementos óseos y dentales de individuos inmaduros. Por el contrario, la conducta ritual involucrada en las prácticas funerarias durante la manipulación de cuerpos y la selección de partes esqueletarias para el armado de los fardos funerarios ofrece la explicación más parsimoniosa para entender el bajo índice de completitud anatómica observado en los contextos mortuorios.

Histomorphometry constitutes a valuable tool for age estimation. Histological interpopulation variability has been shown to affect the accuracy of age estimation techniques and therefore validation studies are required to test the accuracy of the pre-existing methodologies. The present research constitutes a validation study of widely known histological methods on the sixth rib and the femoral midshaft of a 19th century British population originating from Blackburn, England. An evaluation of the histomorphometric features of eleven ribs and five femora was performed and used to test the accuracy of selected methods. Results indicated that osteon area and circularity were the only histomorphometric variables that presented significant interpopulation variability. Cho et al.’s method for the ribs and the average value produced using Kerley and Ubelaker’s method for intact osteon and percentage of lamellar bone equations for femur were considered the only reliable markers for estimatin...

who helped set up the histology lab and keep it running. The enthusiastic MSc students who volunteered to come to the lab and macerate bone. Dr Robert Paine, for introducing me to histopathology, and for the insight and advice along the way. Meaghan Dyer, for keeping me sane through all the setbacks. My family, Mom, Dad, Charley and Maddie, for always supporting, and believing in me, even when I didn't think I could do it. My husband, Antoine, for being anything and everything I needed, throughout this entire process. using the Technical error of measurement (TEM), rTEM and the coefficient of reliability (R). Statistical analysis was carried out using RStudio. Next comparative statistics, including correlations and regressions, were run between the complete data set, the pathological set, and the healthy set, specifically testing the relationship between actual age and cortical area, and actual age and OPD. This demonstrated that while the complete set did show a significant relationship between age and the two standard variables (R 2 0.24 for cortical area and age, R 2 0.21 for OPD and age), this relationship was stronger in the healthy data set (R 2 0.32 for cortical area and age, R 2 0.46 for OPD and age), and much weaker within the pathological data set (R 2 0.09 for cortical area and age, R 2 0.01 for OPD and age). Next the measurements for osteon specific metrics were evaluated for their relationship to age as a complete data set, then as a set including the metric means of each sample, and finally as forty age matched pairs. This was done using t-tests, correlations, and regression analysis. Correlation analysis for metric means found significant relationships between osteon area, osteon total area, osteon minimum length, osteon perimeter, osteon maximum length, and age in the healthy group. All these variables had p-values of <0.004. In the pathological group, correlations between the metric variables and age were much weaker, with only three variables, osteon maximum length, osteon area, and osteon minimum length yielding statistically significant relationships, and the p-values for these three relationships were all greater than 0.02, significantly weaker than the healthy group.

Recent research observed 92% accuracy for age-at-death estimations by U.S. forensic anthropologists. The present study compares this case report level accuracy to method level accuracy for the most commonly used methods in U.S. casework, drawing from the Forensic Anthropology Database for Assessing Methods Accuracy (FADAMA). Method application rate (i.e., how often a method is used in casework) was analyzed for n = 641 cases and identified 15 methods with an application rate >45 cases, and the present study focused further analyses on these 15 methods. Of the 15, only four yielded accuracies greater than or equal to the 92% documented for case-report level accuracy. The other 11 methods produced accuracy rates ranging from 54% to 91%, with six of these below 70% This disconnect between highly accurate age estimations at the case report level compared to the poor performance at method level suggests that practitioner interpretation and synthesis of the methods' outcomes is a critical step for increasing the accuracy rates of the age estimations as reported on the final case report. This inference was further supported by the study's results which indicated that practitioner interpretations of frequently used method combinations improve accuracy and age range width of age estimation. The study also performed a Fisher's Exact test to assess whether case report-level accuracy differed with the number of aging methods used in a case, and found no significant differences.

a FINED 1. Cet article est un élément des travaux qui ont conduit à la publication de Brian et Jaisson (2007a et 2007b). Cette recherche a été soutenue par l'Institut national des études démographiques (Paris). Sur la question chevaline, elle a bénéficié des conseils de Daniel Roche. L'enjeu moral-et dans les mots de Condorcet, social-des recherches sur l'insémination artificielle et sur la physiologie de la génération est précisé un peu plus loin : « Quoique l'expérience de Spallanzani, unique jusqu 'ici, ne soit appuyée que par des analogies prises d 'espèces trop éloignées de la nôtre, cependant on ne doit pas la reléguer

Par la confrontation des résultats de la répartition d'atteintes vertébrales en fonction de l'âge réel et de l'âge calculé d'une soixantaine d'adultes, nous mettons en évidence ks erre ors liées aux méthodes classiques de détermination de l'âge au décès et aux conclusions qu'elk,: peuvent entraîner. Cette étude a été réalisée sur une série de squelettes récents provenant de cimetières désaffectés.

Age mimicry is a well-known phenomenon in the application of osteological ageestimation methods. Age mimicry refers to the fact that predicting age-at-death from a specific trait (age indicator) based on the relation observed in a specific reference sample implies that age estimates to some degree reflect the age structure of the reference sample. In particular, the estimated population mean in a target population in which an age-estimation method is applied is shifted towards the mean in the method-specific reference sample. Consequently, differences in population means between different age-estimation methods in the same target population may be due to differences in mean age of the reference samples used to develop the age-estimation methods. We aim at quantifying the expected magnitude for such differences. Fifteen different traditional age-estimation methods were applied to a sample of 675 adult individuals from the early medieval cemetery of Mannheim-Seckenheim. The relation of the observed estimated population age means and the mean age in the reference samples was analyzed by linear regression. We find that up to 80% of the variation in the estimated population age means can be explained by the variation of the mean age in the reference samples. Furthermore, differences in the magnitude of 3 to 4 years in the mean age between two reference samples can imply a 1-year difference in estimated target population age means. Because large differences in mean age between reference samples used to develop different ageestimation methods are common, some care is needed in interpreting differences between individual age estimates or population mean age estimates in cases where different age-estimation techniques are used.

Скелетный материал из Твери был получен при раскопках Смоленского кладбища на юго-восточной окраине города, из бывшего Загородного посада. Формирование этого некрополя началось в XVIII веке и продолжалось на протяжении двух веков. Наша работа посвящена палеодемографическому исследованию населения города Тверь XVIII–XIX вв. по данным половозрастного определения скелетного материала. В результате исследования можно сделать следующее заключение. Демографическую ситуацию в городе Тверь XVIII–XIX вв. можно считать довольно благополучной, о чем свидетельствует высокий показатель средней продолжительности жизни, относительно невысокий показатель детской смертности, значительная представительность финальной возрастной когорты, низкая смертность в молодом возрасте. На нестандартное соотношение взрослых индивидов по полу в пользу мужчин могли повлиять миграционные процессы, связанные с ростом, строительством и развитие города в XVIII–XIX вв. Skeletal materials from Tver were obtained in the c...

Скелетный материал из Твери был получен при раскопках Смоленского кладбища на юго-восточной окраине города, из бывшего Загородного посада. Формирование этого некрополя началось в XVIII веке и продолжалось на протяжении двух веков. Наша работа посвящена палеодемографическому исследованию населения города Тверь XVIII–XIX вв. по данным половозрастного определения скелетного материала. В результате исследования можно сделать следующее заключение. Демографическую ситуацию в городе Тверь XVIII–XIX вв. можно считать довольно благополучной, о чем свидетельствует высокий показатель средней продолжительности жизни, относительно невысокий показатель детской смертности, значительная представительность финальной возрастной когорты, низкая смертность в молодом возрасте. На нестандартное соотношение взрослых индивидов по полу в пользу мужчин могли повлиять миграционные процессы, связанные с ростом, строительством и развитие города в XVIII–XIX вв. Skeletal materials from Tver were obtained in the c...

Teeth are the hardest and most chemically stable tissues in the body, are well-preserved in archaeological remains and, being resistant to decomposition in the soil, survive long after their supporting structures have deteriorated. It has long been recognised that visual and radiographic examination of teeth can provide considerable information relating to the lifestyle of an individual. This paper examines the latest scientific approaches that have become available to investigate recent and ancient teeth. These techniques include DNA analysis, which can be used to determine the sex of an individual, indicate familial relationships, study population movements, provide phylogenetic information and identify the presence of disease pathogens. A stable isotopic approach can shed light on aspects of diet and mobility and even research climate change. Proteomic analysis of ancient dental calculus can reveal specific information about individual diets. Synchrotron microcomputed tomography is a non-invasive technique which can be used to visualise physiological impactful events, such as parturition, menopause and diseases in cementum microstructure – these being displayed as aberrant growth lines.

Scientific literature frequently reports that age-at-death estimation standards developed on European and North American populations are less effective when used on genetically distant populations. Ultimately, this paper aims to inform forensic anthropologists and bioarchaeologists of the most appropriate methods to use on Southeast Asian skeletal remains by evaluating studies that have tested the replicability and accuracy of adult age estimation methods on Thai target samples. Results show that methods using the pelvis recorded the highest accuracy of up to 93%, but only when broad age ranges are used (±2 SD). Most methods produced the least bias and inaccuracy in young adults but considerably underaged older adults. Overall biases and inaccuracies tended to be lower for males than females. The sternal rib end method showed the weakest correlation with chronological age. Methods that produced age prediction equations developed with regression analyses derived from the Thai samples produced standard errors ranging from 9.5 to 13.9 years (using vertebrae and femora). Most of these methods were deemed too imprecise to be useful in Thai forensic cases. The best way forward to understand the wide range of morphological variation is for future studies to evaluate the influence of body size, activity patterns, socioeconomic status, nutrition, and health on skeletal aging and how it differs between Thai and geographically distant populations.

Scientific literature frequently reports that age-at-death estimation standards developed on European and North American populations are less effective when used on genetically distant populations. Ultimately, this paper aims to inform forensic anthropologists and bioarchaeologists of the most appropriate methods to use on Southeast Asian skeletal remains by evaluating studies that have tested the replicability and accuracy of adult age estimation methods on Thai target samples. Results show that methods using the pelvis recorded the highest accuracy of up to 93%, but only when broad age ranges are used (±2 SD). Most methods produced the least bias and inaccuracy in young adults but considerably underaged older adults. Overall biases and inaccuracies tended to be lower for males than females. The sternal rib end method showed the weakest correlation with chronological age. Methods that produced age prediction equations developed with regression analyses derived from the Thai samples produced standard errors ranging from 9.5 to 13.9 years (using vertebrae and femora). Most of these methods were deemed too imprecise to be useful in Thai forensic cases. The best way forward to understand the wide range of morphological variation is for future studies to evaluate the influence of body size, activity patterns, socioeconomic status, nutrition, and health on skeletal aging and how it differs between Thai and geographically distant populations.

this article describes the forensic odontological analysis of the events of the 2015 Nepal earthquake. It identifies the problems encountered in the aftermath, lessons learned, and prospective future advances aimed at reducing the subjectivity in disaster victim identification (DVI). During a crisis, dental practitioners, particularly forensic odontologists, can make a substantial contribution to DVI, as highlighted in this article. It also promotes best practices in forensic dentistry that may be used by anyone in situations with few resources or people to deal with comparable scenarios. KEY POINTS • Forensic odontologists recruited during the Nepal earthquake discuss their first-hand experience during the operation. • the unique operation experience prepared them well to develop a protocol to effectively and efficiently identify an individual during such mass disasters.

BackgroundWithin the UK, there has been debate on whether life expectancy is increasing or decreasing in particular single or 3-year periods, but there has been less thinking whether overall trends have changed. This paper considers the extent to which the trends in life expectancy for the UK and its nations have changed before and after 2011.MethodsWe used the Office for National Statistics period life expectancy data for the UK and its nations. We used Lee’s approach to project life expectancy based on repeated sampling of year-to-year change in the baseline periods (1990–2011 and 1980–2011) and applied that to 2012 onwards.FindingsImprovements in period life expectancy were substantially and consistently lower between 2012 and 2018 than predicted from the trends from 1980 and, especially, from 1990. By 2018, life expectancy was lower than projected for females and males, respectively, by 1.22 and 1.52 years (England), 1.44 and 0.95 years (Northern Ireland), 1.30 and 1.44 years (S...

The classical age indicators of the innominate have been the pubic symphysis and auricular surface. However, recently, the acetabulum has been highlighted as an indicator of adult age, with applicability in young, middle-aged, and older adults. The Rissech acetabular method was developed in a Portuguese population and tested in European and European-Americans, giving estimates within 10 years of age in more than 89% of the sample. The main goal of this paper is to test the Rissech acetabular method in a modern South American sample. The material used for the study was 184 women and 378 men from a Colombiandocumented skeletal collection. The obtained morphological scores from the acetabulum were analyzed through the IDADE2 web page, a Bayesian statistical program that estimates a relative likelihood distribution for the target individuals, produces age estimates, and provides 95% confidence intervals. Results showed this method is useful in the modern Colombian population with an average absolute error of 10.63 years in females and 9.44 years in males. These errors are similar to those obtained in other European and North American samples when this method was performed and similar or lower than those obtained when the 3 classical aging methods (Suchey-Brooks, Buckberry-Chamberlain, and Lovejoy) were applied in the same collection (absolute error: 10.29 years ♀ and 9.05 years ♂ in Suchey-Brooks, 12.5 years ♀, and 12.17 years ♀ in Buckberry-Chamberlain, and 13.54 years ♀ and 10.99 years ♂ in Lovejoy). Although Rissech's method was developed in a Western European sample, the results of this study indicate its applicability in modern Colombian samples with reasonable accuracy.

Interrelationship Between Various Aging Methods, and their Relevance to Palaeodemography Age estimations for 64 adult individuals from the Byzantine city of Rehovot-in-the-Negev were carried out using seven different aging methods. Correlation coefficients were calculated between five of the methods, which employed the following anatomical structures: teeth attrition rate, cranial sutures (closure stages), sternal end of ribs, symphysis pubis, and sacroiliac joints. Age estimations were checked against 'summary age' (Lovejoy et al., 1985a). Life tables were reconstructed based on summary ages and revised ages separately. It was found that ages obtained from the innominate bones correlated best with the summary age and showed less bias and inaccuracy, while ages obtained from the cranial sutures, showed the opposite. Reconstructing the 'revisedage' has no advantage over other aging methods when calculating demographic parameters.