ABSTRACT
Vault sutures have proven their low reliability for estimating age at death in individual forensic science cases. We broke down the palatine sutures of 134 skulls (with known sex and age at time of death) into 15 subparts and 5 stages of fusion to obtain a mean coefficient of obliteration (Cp) which was then linked to five age classes. We completed this study with multiple regression equations of total palatine suture scores. We compared our results with those obtained using the Mann method on the one hand and classically segmented and scored ectocranial suture age determination methods on the other. Palatine sutures generally do not estimate age at death any better than cranial vault sutures. Despite the partly subjective aspect of suture study, palatine suture observation contributes additional information to age-range estimation, especially in old and very old subjects where other methods lose their effectiveness.
Subject(s)
Age Determination by Skeleton/methods , Cranial Sutures/anatomy & histology , Palate, Hard/anatomy & histology , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Female , Forensic Anthropology , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Regression Analysis , Young AdultABSTRACT
The role of the odontologist is crucial for the study of archaeological material. The excavations at the site of the ancient abbey of the Dunes of Koksijde led to the discovery of more than a thousand burial places. It is possible to estimate the age of the skeletons by studying molar dental wear. This method is however less appropriate for the industrialised populations of the 21st century, because of the switch to more diverse and processed (less abrasive) food.
Subject(s)
Age Determination by Teeth/methods , Anthropology, Physical/methods , Paleodontology/methods , Tooth Abrasion/history , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Belgium , Cephalometry/methods , History, Medieval , Humans , Male , Middle AgedABSTRACT
An ovoid yellowish object has been discovered in an Early Mesolithic collective burial located in the Meuse Basin: the Autours rockshelter (Prov. of Namur, Belgium). It was found among commingled hand and foot bones in a small crack of the rockshelter wall. Mineralogical, radiological and microscopic analyses showed that it was most probably a complex odontoma.
