A Reappraisal of Developing Permanent Tooth Length as an Estimate of Age in Human Immature Skeletal Remains (original) (raw)
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Journal of forensic sciences, 2018
This study provides an update on a quantitative method for immature age estimation based on postnatal deciduous mandibular tooth length. Two known sex and age skeletal collections from Western Europe were sampled (n = 97). Linear regression models for age estimated were calculated for each individual tooth, each sex, and sex combined sample using classical calibration. Prediction errors, residuals, and percentage of individuals whose real age fell within the 95% prediction interval were calculated. The teeth which develop earlier in life, the incisors and the first molar, showed the greatest precision, while the canine showed the least. This method has greater applicability to archeological skeletons or to children in developing countries than for use in North American or European forensic contexts. The method can be applied to incomplete or poorly preserved remains of unknown sex, particularly when dental radiographs are not an option or when teeth have been removed from the alveol...
Accuracy tests of tooth formation age estimations for human skeletal remains
American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 1993
Estimations of age from tooth formation standards for a large (n = 282) sample of subadult skeletal remains from a 19th century historic cemetery sample were analyzed. The standards of Moorrees et al. (1963a, b) for the permanent and deciduous teeth, and Anderson et al. (1976) for the formation of permanent dentition were employed in a variety of combinations to calculate mean dental ages. Tests of accuracy and bias were made on a small sample (n = 17) of personally identified individuals, and age of attainment scores were compared to age of prediction scores for each individual. The resulting dental age distributions for the skeletal sample were compared to documented burial records for the cemetery to determine the representativeness of the skeletal sample. These comparisons showed little difference between age of attainment versus age of prediction methodologies. The standards of Moorrees et al. (1963a, b) were observed to provide the most accurate estimates of age with a standard deviation of one-half year. The standards of Anderson et al. (1976), while easier to use and more extensive, are problematic in that the original reference sample begins at three years of age, while the sample used by Moorrees and colleagues begins at birth. The skeletal age distributions compare well to the overall chronological age distribution for the cemetery. These results affirm that tooth formation age estimates for subadult skeletal remains from archaeological or forensic samples provide accurate assessments of age at both the individual and population level. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Correlation of Chronological Age with Tooth Wear in Archaeological Populations
Knowing that attrition and abrasion are most common wear processes of dental hard tissue, which occurs along with aging, the aim of this paper is to determine the correlation between dental age and loss of dental hard tissue on archeological bone residues. For the purpose of this research, the collection of skeletal remains of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (HAZU) was used. The study includes 392 samples of the remains of both upper and lower jaws from 7 Croatian archaeological sites, whereas 4 of them from continental and 3 of them from coastal Croatia. The remains of bones belong to two different archeological periods, late antiquity and early Middle Ages. Visa Metrix computer system was used on digital photography of occlusal tooth surfaces to measure total exposed area of dental hard tissue and surface of dental hard tissues damaged by attrition and abrasion. Data provided were defined in sq. cm, and as such were inserted in excel table and processed statistically. In the statistical analysis of data, Shapiro-Wilk test, Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis test were used. There is a statistically significant correlation between the total teeth number and estimated chronological age (χ² = 46.3, ƞ² = 0.23, p <0.001). Total number of teeth negatively correlates with chronological age (r =-0.41, p <0.001). The total surface area of the teeth available decreases with the estimated chronological age (r =-0.39, p <0.001), while the proportion (%) of the total damaged area of the teeth in relation to the total available area increases with the estimated chronological age (r = 0.622, P <0.001). The proportion of damaged surface in overall teeth surface increases with the estimated chronological age (r = 0.686; p <0.001) both in males and females (r = 0.534; p <0.001). The lifelong loss of hard tooth tissue positively correlates with chronological age in both sexes despite of historical period. The loss of hard tooth tissue due to attrition and abrasive changes, and with usage of Vista Metrix Inc. computer system can now be used to determine age in forensic dentistry as well as forensic anthropology and archeology.
Tooth Cementum Thickness as a Method of Age Estimation in the Forensic Context
Biology
Estimating age at death is a key element in the process of human identification of skeletal remains. The interest in dental cementum stems from its increase in thickness throughout life and, at the same time, from the fact it should not be affected by remodeling processes. Since the age assessment is particularly difficult in adults when using traditional anthropological methods on the skeleton, we tested a dental method based on maximum cementum thickness and developed new regression equations. We microscopically analyzed the histological sections of dental roots from a sample of 108 permanent teeth with known age and sex. Age at the time of dental extraction was in the range of 18–84 years. Our findings show that there were no differences in thickness between sexes, dental arch, and mono- and pluriradicular teeth. Separate regression equations were developed for individuals in the whole age range and individuals under 45 years. The equations were then tested on a hold-out sample f...
European Journal of Anatomy, 2022
Teeth are a valuable source of information for studies regarding past human populations in archaeological and forensic contexts. In dental anthropology, the linear measurements of tooth crowns are used for assessing morphological variability and sexual dimorphism in both modern and past human populations. The aim of this research is to evaluate the M2 molar crown variability in archaeological human populations from Prehistory (Chalcolithic and Bronze Age, ~ 5000-1150 BCE) and Middle Ages (13th-17th centuries) discovered in sites from NorthEastern Romania. The objectives of this study emphasize on the diachronic comparison of the M2 molar crown variables between prehistoric and medieval samples (1), and the assessment of sexual dimorphism expression (2). The two crown measurements, mesio-distal (MD) and bucco-lingual (BL) diameters, were performed using ImageJ software on occlusal digital images acquired stereo-microscopically. The crown index (CI), crown area (CA) and the sexual dimorphism index (SDI), along with the two linear measurements, were subjected to univariate and multivariate statistical analysis. Our results show that the variation coefficient (CV) differs for the MD variable in the female upper M2 molars, being higher in the medieval sample than the prehistoric one; also, a higher variability is remarked for the mandibular molar in the medieval sample than in prehistoric one. In females, the MD and CA variables for mandibular M2 molars and the BL and CA for maxillary molars showed significant statistical differences between the medieval and prehistoric mandibular teeth, with higher values for the exemplar from Middle Ages. Similar result was obtained in males, for the CA variable in the upper M2 molars. In our study, the sexual dimorphism manifested at the M2 crown molar was highlighted in the prehistoric sample, though less in the medieval one.
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2022
The chart relating molar wear to age published by Brothwell in 1963 is widely used to estimate age at death in archaeological adult human skeletal remains, especially in Britain, but also more widely. The chart was based on examination of juvenile and adult dentitions from Neolithic to Medieval periods from Britain, but few further details of materials and methods were given. The aim of this work is to reassess the value of molar wear for estimating age at death for adult human remains in Britain and, if necessary, to provide an updated replacement for the Brothwell chart. 870 dentitions (juveniles with at least one permanent molar erupted and adults) were examined dating from the Neolithic period onward. The aim was to use a Miles-like method to assess the relationship between molar wear and agei.e. to calibrate wear rates using juvenile dentitions and then, by extrapolating from this baseline, estimating age from wear in individuals with successively more worn dentitions. We validate some key assumptions of the method. Molar wear bears a consistent relationship to dental age in juveniles and does not appear to vary greatly from Neolithic to Medieval times, nor in the post-Medieval rural group studied. First and second molars appear to wear at similar rates, as do third molars except in dentitions where wear is very advanced. The estimated rate of molar wear is somewhat slower than that estimated by Brothwell. The results allow a chart to be presented that replaces Brothwell's (1963) chart, and permits age estimation from molar wear in British archaeological human remains dating from Neolithic to Medieval times and, tentatively, for rural post-Medieval remains. It is not applicable to post-Medieval remains from most urban contexts where dental wear is much reduced.