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55 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
- 3rd side (hint)
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What’s looked at to determine age at death estimation |
- Developmental changes to skeleton - follow predictive rate of development in a given age range - more accurate - Degenerative changes - occur at different rate in and within different populations and samples |
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What factors can help determine degenerative changes |
- environmental - health - genetic |
3 |
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Developmental changes are up to what age |
Up to stage you reach skeletal maturation |
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What needs to be determined before age at death |
1. Biological sex 2. Ancestry |
2 |
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What are the 2 limitations of determining age at death |
1. Most methods developed are for populations rather than individuals 2. Many methods based on modern population samples with similar socio economic and enviro factors that impact ageing process |
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What 4 ageing techniques are used for sub-adult/ juvenile remains |
1. Skeletal development and fusion of epiphyses 2. Fusion of the sutures and fontanelles 3. Length of long bones 4. Dentition - mineralisation and eruption - rate they develop and fall out , happen at very predictable sequences. - developmental changes |
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What is epiphyseal fusion |
Fusion of the long bones |
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What bone takes the longest to fuse and what age does it finish |
Clavicle - medial end - 25yrs old |
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If you have really young children and bones are in pieces what can you do to age them |
Identify their ages through the different features and sections of the individual bones |
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What is the fusion between the sphenoid and occipital called |
Spheno- occipital synchondrosis - fuses over so there’s no line between - happens late , between 18 and 25 - some cases at 13 yrs |
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Up to what age is the measurement of long bones useful |
- up to 10 yrs at which point it comes less accurate - can be used in combination with other sub adult ageing techniques |
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How do you measure long bones |
Measure the diaphyseal (shaft) |
What part |
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At what age does all of the teeth come through |
35 years - 3rd molar is final one to come through - a lot of people remove 3rd molar now so not a reliable indicator |
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How do we work out if someone doesn’t have a 3rd molar or it hasn’t erupted yet |
Take an X-ray or look at dental records |
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Problem with mixed dentition |
Can’t see what permanent teeth haven’t erupted |
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After 35 what is looked at for teeth |
Wearing down of teeth |
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Problem for looking at teeth in modern times |
- methods developed were for looking at archaeological populations - would wear down more quickly due to gritty diets - our diet is softer - dentists help maintain better teeth conditions |
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What 9 ageing techniques used for adult remains |
1. Pubic symphysis 2. Auricular surface 3. Retroauricular surface 4. Sternal end of the ribs 5. Suture closure 6. Fusion of ventral rings on the vertebrae 7. Microstructure of bones 8. Bone density 9. Dentition - eruption, tooth wear |
Mean what bones are looked at to age |
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What are the 3 adult age categories what |
Young adult - 20-35 Middle adult - 36- 50 Old adult - 50+ |
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What 5 variables are looked at for the pubic symphysis |
1. Ventral rampart 2. Dorsal margin 3. Bony nodules 4. The rim 5. Lipping |
V,D,B,R,L |
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How do bones change as you age |
1. Young - exhibit ridges which are separated by furrows that run across surface 2. Furrows fill in (starts posteriorly then anteriorly) 3. Face becomes flat and granular in appearance 4. Goes from granular to fine textured bone 5. Older individuals - pitted and eroded |
5 From young to old |
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What two characters develop over time for the ventral rampart / how does it age |
1. Bevel 2. A rampart - over time ridges degenerate and furrows are filled - margin develops around pubic surface |
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How does dorsal margin age |
- ridges break down and furrows fill - bone on ventral pubic face builds up - surface extends backwards and forms plateau - upper and lower margins of pubic face are hard to see in youth, more defined as you age |
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What does the technique by McKern and Steward focus on for the public symphysis |
1. Dorsal (posterior) Demi face 2. Ventral (anterior) rampart 3. Symphyseal rim - each component on scale of 0-5, all added together - create age estimation - can only be used for males |
3 |
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What 4 areas are scored for the auricular surface + ref |
Lovejoy 1. The apex 2. Superior demiface 3. Inferior demiface 4. Retroauricular area |
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What 4 terms are used for the scoring system |
1. Billowing - transverse riffing 2. Granularity - grades from non to fine sandpaper structure 3. Density - compactness 4. Porosity - perforation |
Lovejoy |
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What happens to the retroauricular surface when it ages |
Surface exhibits: - macroporosity - osteophytes - other bony outgrowths |
3 M,O,O |
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How does the apex change with age |
Thin in youth - as you age the apex thickens |
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How do the sternal rib ends age |
- Cartilage starts to ossify - outer surface of costal cartilage ossified and causes change in morphology of sternal rip ends |
O |
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What are the 3 general changes seen to happen over time for sternal rip ends |
1. Pit depth 2. Pit shape 3. Rim and wall structure |
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Iscans technique for sternal rib ends |
- developed using Caucasian males and females - changes have 9 phases - changes based on right 4th rib - method not as accurate as pubic symphysis or auricular surface - specific to biological sex and ancestry - has comparative casts that can be used when making the assessment Note however it’s recommended to look at changes to all rib ends not just the 4th |
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What is the brothwell method and what’s a problem with it |
- wear of teeth over time, different stages linked to different age ranges - only minor differences between upper and lower molars Problem - developed based on British Neolithic and medieval populations |
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What are the problems with stature estimations |
- need to assess sex, ancestry and age first - reported/ documented statue may be inaccurate, self reported height is usually greater that actual height, more so in men - stature can be 2-3cm shorter in evening - height may be measured with shoes on - hard if bones are damaged - bones may be measured inaccurately - some measurements require specific bone features to be measured which are difficult to reach/ do by oneself - need to use a variety of methods to improve accuracy |
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What method is most used to measuring statue in forensic anthropology |
Trotter and Gleser - methods for long bones, when in good condition |
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Fullys method |
- look at whole skeleton - method developed using french, Caucasian makes - still applicable for females (values slightly less accurate) - problem - require an intact skeleton |
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Trotter and Gleser method |
- most widely used - uses stature equations based on max length of long bones - developed using 5000 males and females from terry collection, WW2 and Korean War. Individuals from a variety of backgrounds - more bones used the more accurate - long bones on legs more accurate than arms (femur is best) - standard to only measure left |
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Meadows and jants |
- in extreme situations - measure metacarpal lengths to determine stature in males |
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Jason and Taylor |
- measure vertebral column length to determine statue in American Caucasian and negroid males and females |
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Bolsden method |
- determine stature based on length of body measured in grave VS stature calculated from length of long bones - only for Undisturbed burials in extended position |
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What happens to height as you age + ref |
Giles 1991 After age of 45 you start to shrink - due to decrease in thickness of soft tissue and shrink in vertebral height |
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Stature adjustment Giles |
Giles developed a stature correction for males and females between 46 and 85 yrs |
What did Giles develop |
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How looking at cranial suture Closure is useful and not useful |
It’s very inaccurate for refined ages but good for generalised age ranges - only gives you an idea of whether you’re dealing with a very old or very young individual |
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How do you work out what hand someone used (left handed or right handed) |
- bones more robust in your dominant hand / arm and longer - methods are imprecise, handedness is not often recorded in official docs - method rely on recording of skeletal asymmetry - scapula can show increased use, increased range of movement - in glenoid fossa, dorsal rim on dominant side more bevelled, sharp on non dominant side - handedness more apparent in older individuals |
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How is isotope analysis used in forensic anthro |
Look at origins and mobility by analysing strontium and oxygen levels in teeth and bones - can identify first generation immigrants - strontium in bone show last few years prior to death - strontium in enamel show early childhood |
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Classical archaeology example for isotope analysis |
Amesbury archer - analysis of oxygen in tooth enamel suggest he may have originated from alpine region in Central Europe |
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Problems with isotope analysis |
- importance of food and drink from other countries could give incorrect signature, particularly in western societies - DNA analysis is favoured |
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How are cranial sutures assesses and classified |
- inspect inner and outer surface Classification 0= open suture 1= partially closed suture 2= almost fused suture 3= complete closure |
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How do the annular rings of the vertebrae age |
- when young don’t have a distinct ring around outside - ring develops as you get older - fusion between 16 and 25 - comparative casts available |
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How does the sacrum age |
General rule - if there are spaces between all sacral bodies, less that 20 years old - only space between S1 and S2, younger than 27 years - complete union, after age of 25 years |
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When does the S1 in the sacrum close |
Finishes closing around 30-32 years old |
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What bones are looked at for those in the 30s range (age) |
- S1 in sacrum - clavicle - teeth |
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What happens to bone density as you age |
- loss of bone density with age |
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Counting of osteons |
- there is a relationship between number of osteons and osteon fragments and age - not known if osteon formation is constant, constant between populations or how it may be impacted by diet, physical activity, health and genetic background |
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What age range m can the eruption of the molars be used to look at |
15 - 35 yrs |
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What systems are used for toothwear |
1. Miles method 2. Brothwell method 3. Smith system 4. Scott system |
M,B,S,S |
