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A critical review and classification of juvenile age estimation methods in

biological anthropology

Poster · April 2017

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.30752.58880

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4 authors, including:

Louise Corron Silvana Condemi

University of Nevada, Reno Aix-Marseille Université
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Pascal Adalian
Aix-Marseille Université
159 PUBLICATIONS   870 CITATIONS   

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 A critical review and classification of juvenile age estimation methods in biological anthropology
Louise Corron, François Marchal, Silvana Condemi, Pascal Adalian
Aix Marseille University CNRS, EFS, Anthropologie bioculturelle, Droit, Ethique et Santé, Marseille, France

Introduction & Objectives

Age is a parameter of the juvenile biological profile that can be estimated from skeletal or dental age indicators with sufficient reliability, accuracy and precision.
HOWEVER :
Many available juvenile age estimation methods do not follow scientifically and/or biologically valid sampling, methodological and/or statistical criteria.
SO:
 What is the value of age estimates obtained with these methods? Can we use them for paleodemographic profiles in bioarcheology and to interpret the legal status of sub-
adults in forensic anthropology ? Can users select and apply them critically, i.e. by being fully aware of the potential biases of the tools they use in their every-day practice?

Methodological recommendations [1, 2, 3] regarding sampling and statistical protocols exist and can be used to evaluate the protocols of existing methods.
This work presents a critical review and classification of 265 publications on juvenile age estimation used by anthropologists, based on these recommendations.

Characterisation of the corpus of publications

Corpus : 265 original publications in an Excel® database Figure 1:
➢ Only two sampling criteria
Age (known/unknown)
(Age and Sex) are mainly
Sex (known/unknown)
5 sampling criteria Age distribution (even/uneven) represented by valid
Sex distribution (even/uneven/unknown) modalities in the corpus.
Sample size (≥200/<200)

Reliability (≥95%/<95%)/Unknown) ➢ Only two statistical criteria

Accuracy (Known/Unknown) (Standard error and
For each 5 statistical criteria Standard error (Known/Unknown)
Validation (yes/no)
Validation) are mainly
Publication
Intra-/inter-observer errors (no/yes) represented by valid
Modalities :
modalities in the corpus
- Validity
Anatomical element (Femur/Hand-wrist…)
or invalidity 10 methodological Targeted age group (Childhood/Adolescence…)
Exploited process (Growth/Maturation)
criteria Figure 1 Frequencies of valid and invalid modalities for the five sampling criteria
Geographical origin of the sample
and the five statistical criteria according to recommendations in the corpus of
… methods

The modalities of the sampling and statistical criteria were then used to Clusterisation using the five sampling criteria Clusterisation using the five statistical criteria
evaluate the publications by conducting multiple correspondence analysis
(MCA) and hierarchical clusterisation [4, 5, 6] (R® software) (see Figure 2)
Figure 2:
➢ One number = one publication; similar publications are close and linked
by lines
➢ Only 97/265 methods respect all five valid sampling modalities. They are
circled in red.
➢ Only 61/265 methods respect all valid statistical modalities. They are
circled in blue.
21 publications with all valid sampling and
statistical modalities Figure 2 Results of the clusterisation of publications according to the modalities of the sampling (left) and statistical criteria (right)

Qualification and quantification of sampling and statistical criteria show defaults in the protocols of the publications in the corpus

Classification of juvenile age estimation methods

The modalities of the sampling and statistical criteria were then used to build a classification of the publications (Figures 3, 4 and 5 )
An automatic software is
under construction for a
more extensive and
personalised approach.

Figure 4 Pictograms representing the modalities of the statistical and descriptive criteria
characterizing the publications in the classification

41 decisional trees can be used for objective method

Figure 3 Protocol for building the classification as decisional trees. selection and evaluation using standardised and Figure 5 Classification of juvenile age estimation methods built using age indicators related to
One tree = one element and one process (growth or maturation) common sampling and statistical criteria growth taken on bones of the ankle and foot

Conclusions
Based on a corpus of 265 publications, this work has objectively qualified and quantified the defaults existing in current juvenile age estimation methods.

A classification of these publications is presented, highlighting the methods respecting recommended sampling and statistical protocols.
This classification can be used in practice by anthropologists as a guide for method selection and application.

References cited
[1] Cunha E. et al 2009 - The problem of aging human remains and living individuals: a review. For Sci Int 193(1-3):1-13; [2] Schmeling A. et al 2004 - Forensic age diagnostics of living people undergoing criminal proceedings For Sci Int 144(2-3): 243-245; [3]
Ferembach D., Schwidetzky, Stloukal M. 1979 - Recommandations pour determiner l’âge et le sexe sur le squelette Bull Mem Soc Anthrop Paris 6(1):7-45; [4] Nenadic O., Greenacre M. 2007 - Analysis in R, with two- and three-dimensional graphics: the ca package. J
Stat Soft 20(3):1-13; [5] Husson F. et al 2010 - Principal component methods – hierarchical clustering – partitional clustering: why would we need to choose for visualizing data? Applied Mathematics Department, technical report, Agrocampus, 17p. [6] Corron L.
2016 – Juvenile age estimation in physical anthropology: critical review of existing methods and the application of two standardised methodological approaches. Aix-Marseille Univ. PhD thesis. 870p.
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