Year: 2014
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: The accurate estimation of age is considered important from an ethical, legal and \narchaeological perspective. Among the numerous methods based on macroscopic skeletal \nstudies for age estimation, the Suchey-Brooks (1990) method for aging from the pubic \nsymphysis and the Buckberry and Chamberlain (2002) method for aging from the auricular \nsurface are considered more reliable. However, both these methods have been derived from \nAmerican populations. In saying this, the following study aimed to evaluate whether it is \npossible to accurately estimate the age-at-death from morphological age-related changes seen \non the pubic symphysis and the auricular surface in a black South African population. A total \nof 197 individuals of both sexes utilising both left and right os coxae were investigated. Age \nwas estimated using descriptions stipulated by Brooks and Suchey (1990) and Buckberry and \nChamberlain (2002). Both methods indicated moderate to high inter-and intra-observer errors. \nDescriptive statistics indicated a sample distribution of predominantly middle aged individuals. \nCorrelation coefficients, inaccuracies and bias as well as Principal Components Analysis \n(PCA) were calculated for both skeletal elements for both sexes and sides. Statistical analyses \nindicated no significant differences between sexes and sides for both the pubic symphysis and \nthe auricular surface. When comparing accuracies of each method, inaccuracies and bias were \nlower in the pubic symphysis than in the auricular surface thus making the pubic symphysis a \nmore reliable age estimator. Similarly, males indicated lower inaccuracies and bias than did \nfemales. Principal Component Analysis indicated variance between certain features found on \nthe pubic symphysis and the auricular surface. Overall, the pubic symphysis outperformed the \nauricular surface, even though the method described by Buckberry and Chamberlain (2002) is \nconsidered more reliable. Further investigation of these two methods on a white South African
Author: Melissa Pininski
Language: English
Subfield: Archeology (arts and humanities)
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: National Research Foundation
OpenAlex ID: W2246013126