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'Alfonso-Durruty MP, Thompson JL, 2011: Basiocciput age at death estimation assessment in subadults from Punta Teatinos, Chile. Anthropologie (Brno) 49, 2: 125-132'. |
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| Abstract | | In bioarchaeological and forensic research, the identification and differentiation of foetal, neonatal, infant, and children remains is plagued with difficulties. These difficulties arise from a series of factors including poor preservation, excavation damage or loss, and differential mortuary treatment that leads to the low representation of foetal, neonatal, infant, and children's remains in archaeological sites. Although palaeodemography aspires to accurately reconstruct the age structure of skeletal populations the degree of accuracy of age at death estimation techniques continues to be problematic due to the lack of population-specific standards. To remedy this, we assess the reliability of the basiocciput aging method using a South American sample. Immature individuals (n=12) from the Punta Teatinos archaeological site (Chile) were aged based on dental development (dental age), linear growth of the basiocciput, and the maximum diaphyseal length (MDL) of the femur and humerus. Age at death estimates obtained using the three methods were classified as foetal (<40 foetal weeks), infant (birth-0 year), child I (1-5 years), and child II (6-12 years). Results indicate that the methods are largely concordant (80.0% matches). Basiocciput age at death estimations were supported by dental development estimates in 77.8% of the cases and by long bone age in 90.0% of the comparisons. Partial matches and mismatches between the methods are mostly the result of higher age-estimations rendered by dental development estimates. Statistical comparisons between the methods did not reveal significant differences. Overall, these results show that the basiocciput age at death estimations are generally in agreement with most estimates based on dental development and MDL. The basiocciput method can, therefore, be applied to South American prehistoric populations. | | | | Keywords | | Basiocciput method - Age at death estimation - South America | | |
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