The Sum of One’s Parts: Exploring Bone and Dental Age Assessment in Age Estimation Methods

Abstract

Age estimation (AE) is a fundamental aspect used to establish the biological profile of both living and deceased individuals. This study evaluates AE methods to determine if bone development (BD) methods yield similar results to dental development (DD) and whether methods using samples with similar geographic origins, socioeconomic status (SES), chronology, data specificity, and/or anatomical regions yield consistent results. We hypothesized that BD and DD methods differ in age estimations, although these differences would be minor when methods have similar variables. The sample consisted of 11 immature skeletons from the Hospital Real de Todos os Santos’ collection (18th-century, Lisbon, Portugal) and applied 56 AE methods. The results were compiled into individual-based diagrams, facilitating both within- and between-individual comparisons, including stress-induced changes. This showed that BD methods tended to underestimate age compared to DD methods. BD methods closely aligning with DD methods were mainly based on individuals from lower to middle SES, focusing on areas like the iliac crest and medial clavicle. Findings also suggest that physiological stress might influence AE outcomes. This study emphasizes the importance of combining BD and DD methods alongside a detailed pathological and/or chronic stress assessment of human remains when estimating AE to minimize interpretative errors. This care applies to any discipline aiming to profile living or dead individuals, highlighting the importance of controlling for confounding variables, such as disease, in any AE estimation.

Keywords

Age estimation / Skeletal maturation / Dental development / Individual health

Supplementary Materials

Supplementary information on the BD and DD methods used in this research may be found at: Ferreira, M., & Alves Cardoso, F. (2024). Bone Development and Dental Development methods references [Data set]. Zenodo. https://zenodo.org/records/13996709.

Acknowledgments

We would like to express our deepest gratitude to Rodrigo Banha da Silva for generously providing access to the human remains that were the basis for this study. Special thanks to Deodália Dias for the invaluable support and guidance throughout the dissertation process, which formed the foundation of this research. We are also grateful to Sílvia Casimiro for her assistance and the insightful conversations that greatly enriched our understanding and provided essential guidance. Additionally, we would like to acknowledge the privilege to have had the opportunity to study the human remains that led to this research, further recognizing their contribution to the scientific development.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, M.F. and F.A.C.; Methodology, M.F. and F.A.C.; Software, M.F.; Validation, M.F. and F.A.C.; Formal Analysis, M.F. and F.A.C.; Investigation, M.F.; Resources, F.A.C.; Data Curation, M.F.; Writing—Original Draft Preparation, M.F.; Writing—Review & Editing, F.A.C.; Visualization, M.F.; Supervision, F.A.C.; Project Administration, F.A.C.; Funding Acquisition, F.A.C.

Ethics Statement

This research was developed upholding and following the American Association of Biological Anthropology ethical guidelines and the British Association for Biological Anthropology and Osteoarchaeology (BABAO) Code of Ethics and Code of Practice for the analysis and handling of human remains. The research was carried out in close collaboration with institutional custodians of the human remains.

Informed Consent Statement

Not applicable, as we may argue that human remains exhumed from archaeological context cannot provide consent; however, we would like to acknowledge the privilege to have had the opportunity to study the human remains that led to this research, further recognizing their contribution to the scientific development of the disciplines involved in this study as well as the historical context of the Hospital Real de Todos-os-Santos, in Lisbon, Portugal. We would also like to highlight the significance of human remains as a legacy from past populations and their importance as cultural heritage.

Funding

This research was funded by the research projects: Bone Matters/Matérias Ósseas (reference: IF/00127/2014/CP1233/CT0003/) and Life After Death: Rethinking Human Remains and Human Osteological Collections as Cultural Heritage and Biobanks (reference: 2020.01014.CEECIND)—both projects are funded both by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (Portugal) and Coordinated by Francisca Alves Cardoso. This research was developed within the scope of CRIA—Centro em Rede de Investigação em Antropologia (reference UIDB/04038/2020) Strategic Plan and development of CRIA’s laboratory profile via its Laboratory of Biological Anthropology and Human Osteology—LABOH, funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (Portugal).

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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