Abstract

Background/Objectives: Age estimation from skeletal remains is an important step in reconstructing the identity of deceased individuals. The auricular surface of the ilium, known to be a strong predictor of age at death, could benefit from methodological refinements that have previously shown potential using only the retroauricular area. The aim of this paper is to showcase the strengths and weaknesses of an approach that requires greater complexity than using only the retroauricular area. Methods: A series of logistic regressions were performed to classify 105 individuals from the Terry Collection into three age groups: younger, middle-aged, and older adult. Stratified sample selection provided a more all-encompassing reflection of the diverse experiences of those individuals who carried the morphologies observed. The features scored included microporosity, macroporosity, presence of dense bone, morphology of the auricular rim, linear organization, and retroauricular area. Results: Overall, the substantial increase in time and effort does increase accuracy of the classifications, but not by the same magnitude. Results reflect an improved classification of younger individuals compared to using the retroauricular area alone. With the present method, individuals were classified into their correct group 66% of the time, and results that narrowed down classification to two of the three age groups were obtained in a further 26%. Conclusions: The utility of this method is based on clarity and reproducibility, addressing the known issue of “attraction to the middle”, and its potential to correctly identify adults as beyond 65 years old.

IPC Classification

Keywords