M2: The Biological Profile
LECTURE 10
Subadult Age Assessment
Estimation of an individual’s age at death
Trying to correlate a person’s chronological age with
biological age
CHRONOLOGICAL AGE how old the person was
when they died
BIOLOGICAL AGE Developmental and
AGING A degenerative age expressed in the body
o Correlated with chronological age, but
SKELETON affected by environment, nutrition, activity,
etc…
o Differences between males and females
o POPULATION SPECIFICITY one
population may go through the factor at a certain rate that is
different than other populations
[1] CALANDER YEARS
o (Known age at death; death year − birth year)
ABSOLUTE AGE [2] AGE CATEGORY
o Fetal/Infant – 0–1-year-old
o Child – 1-15 years-old
SERIATION
o Also known as relative age
o Places individuals in relation to one another from youngest to
SERIATION oldest
o Does not provide absolute age but a “relative age”
o More prevalent in archeological context
SUBADULTS
APPROACH
o Age estimation based on growth processes throughout the body
YOU USE TO ADULTS
AGE A o Age estimation based on joint deterioration after the body has
SKELETON completed growth
❶ More accurate than adult aging techniques
❷ Sex-Specific, females advanced over males of same age in terms of
development
❸ Based on European growth standards, often from poor house or
indigent samples
SUBADULT ❹ Are population-specific
TECHNIQUES DENTAL DEVELOPMENT
o Crown and root completion
o Eruption
SKELETAL DEVELOPMENT
o Appearance of ossification centers
, M2: The Biological Profile
o Fusion of ossification centers and epiphyses
o Females more advanced than males
METRIC DATA
o Long bone lengths
Teeth grow from the crown towards the root
Use data from known cases to
generate growth curves
PROS
o Highly Accurate
o Can be used for
fetal through
teenage ages
DENTAL CONS
DEVELOPMENT o Can be sex-and
population-specific
DENTAL
FORMATION
CHART
Based on eruption of teeth through the gum
line
Requires near complete mouth
Less accurate than dental formation
DENTAL Population-Specific
ERUPTION We can use the dental eruption pattern chart
PATTERNS shown below
o Categorizes based on three categories
[1] Deciduous Dentition
[2] Mixed Dentition
LECTURE 10
Subadult Age Assessment
Estimation of an individual’s age at death
Trying to correlate a person’s chronological age with
biological age
CHRONOLOGICAL AGE how old the person was
when they died
BIOLOGICAL AGE Developmental and
AGING A degenerative age expressed in the body
o Correlated with chronological age, but
SKELETON affected by environment, nutrition, activity,
etc…
o Differences between males and females
o POPULATION SPECIFICITY one
population may go through the factor at a certain rate that is
different than other populations
[1] CALANDER YEARS
o (Known age at death; death year − birth year)
ABSOLUTE AGE [2] AGE CATEGORY
o Fetal/Infant – 0–1-year-old
o Child – 1-15 years-old
SERIATION
o Also known as relative age
o Places individuals in relation to one another from youngest to
SERIATION oldest
o Does not provide absolute age but a “relative age”
o More prevalent in archeological context
SUBADULTS
APPROACH
o Age estimation based on growth processes throughout the body
YOU USE TO ADULTS
AGE A o Age estimation based on joint deterioration after the body has
SKELETON completed growth
❶ More accurate than adult aging techniques
❷ Sex-Specific, females advanced over males of same age in terms of
development
❸ Based on European growth standards, often from poor house or
indigent samples
SUBADULT ❹ Are population-specific
TECHNIQUES DENTAL DEVELOPMENT
o Crown and root completion
o Eruption
SKELETAL DEVELOPMENT
o Appearance of ossification centers
, M2: The Biological Profile
o Fusion of ossification centers and epiphyses
o Females more advanced than males
METRIC DATA
o Long bone lengths
Teeth grow from the crown towards the root
Use data from known cases to
generate growth curves
PROS
o Highly Accurate
o Can be used for
fetal through
teenage ages
DENTAL CONS
DEVELOPMENT o Can be sex-and
population-specific
DENTAL
FORMATION
CHART
Based on eruption of teeth through the gum
line
Requires near complete mouth
Less accurate than dental formation
DENTAL Population-Specific
ERUPTION We can use the dental eruption pattern chart
PATTERNS shown below
o Categorizes based on three categories
[1] Deciduous Dentition
[2] Mixed Dentition
