Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer.
To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to upgrade your browser.
Dental Anthropology has produced a huge amount of information in the last decades, covering many different aspects of human biological and cultural life. For the last twenty years, a process of diversification and specialization occurred,that sometimes precluded the development of macroscale comparative studies,except for a few exceptional cases. Some reflections and critical debate have to be done to overcomethese limits and to arrive to more consensual methodological procedures. The generation, analysis and conservation of new and previously known documented human osteological collections,and the use of compatible methodologies continue to be fundamental to obtain proxy data and generate adequate protocols to carry out comparative studies involving research projects from different parts of the world. Dental Anthropology is a scientific discipline of great development in the last decades, which deals with studies of sexual dimorphism, paleodemography, oral health, lifestyle, evolutionary trends, paleodiet, biodistance and paleopathology through the analysis of the dentition of extinct and modernhuman populations[1-22,among many others]. It is an important way of investigationthat allows access to knowledge sometimes avoided by other kind of research. The microscopic structure of osseous remains is more fragile than that of teeth, and therefore tend to be more easily deteriorated, so that the latter usually form an important part of the evidence available because of the much tougher constitution of the tissues, both in archaeological cases and in the unfortunately increasing number of mass disasters, like aircraft accidents, natural catastrophes or terrorist attacks[e.g. 23-27]. Considering that tooth structure is not remodeled during life, they offer a large amount of information for understanding the biological and social dynamics of past populations [3, 14, 28, 29] and assist in the identification of missing persons through forensic anthropology procedures[30-32]. Modern Dental Anthropology is the result of systematic efforts carried out by research teams for decadesin order to strengthen the scientific nature of the discipline and tried to explain the enormous biological diversity of human populations.The vast amount of information generated byscholars such as Cameriere and their investigation teams are good examples of comprehensive and sustainedprograms that included specific and holistic investigation designs. These detailed and numerous studies were initiated during the first half of the twentieth century, and significantly diversified since the 1970s. The prolific development generated a huge amount of data about dentition, which contributed to improving knowledge about the issues mentioned above; its impact is seen in the growing interest on the subject andthe increasing incorporation of specialists in archeological and bio anthropological research groups all around the world. At present, dental anthropology is immersed in a complex scenario that requires that the multiple current analysesin force, most of which offer significant heuristic potential for improving the anthropological science, be reflexively evaluated so as to arrive tomethodological consensus that allow performing macroscale comparative studies.The definitions of the variablesstudied,their categorizations and the recording proceduresare issues that should be clearly stated and necessarily discussed within the academic community in order to reach general consensus among scholars, so as to produce comparable data and allow developing studies in large spatial and temporal scales[33]. In this way, several survey protocols and systems of nomenclature have been generated to unify criteria of analysis in other disciplines, such as bio archeology, paleodemography and paleopathology [34-38].Dental Anthropology still needs this kind of general agreement.
Osteological reference collections play a key role in bioanthropological research; they allow the development and testing of methods for sexing and ageing individuals using various bone and dental attributes. This paper presents the first stage results of the ongoing Chacarita Research Project, which aims to generate and study a reference collection of adult skeletons representative of the contemporary population of Buenos Aires city. The Chacarita Collection consists of unclaimed human remains of individuals of known nationality, sex, age, cause and date of death from the Chacarita Public Cemetery. Unlike other similar endeavours, this sample has been completely exhumed using archaeological techniques. So far, a total of 146 adult skeletons have been recovered (60 females – 41.1% and 86 males – 58.90%), the majority of which have ages-at-death in the range of 71–90 years. They were born primarily in Argentina (n = 133; 91.1%), although other nationalities are also represented. Dates of death range between 1987 and 2000. In the short term, the osteological study of this collection will allow assessment of the performance of classical methods of sex determination and age-at-death estimation in a local setting. A special priority will be given to the study of osteological changes in individuals over 50 years. As the sample is being retrieved by exhumation, the impact of taphonomic agents on the most diagnostic bone structures is also being assessed. In the long term, this osteological collection will be available to generate new population-specific techniques and to develop comparative biological studies.
Sexual estimation of human remains is an aspect of great importance for the characterization of demographic profiles in bioarcheology and to identify individuals in forensic cases. The aims of this paper are threefold: to generate population-specific formulae for sex estimation based on permanent canine metrics, to evaluate the dental sexual dimorphism, and to develop a Bayesian approach in a sample of 115 individuals from the documented human sample housed in the University of Coimbra (Portugal). Discriminant functions and logistic regression equations were developed, and posterior probabilities were calculated. Formulae offered high percentages of correct sex assignation (77.42-86.54% for the discriminant functions and 81.63-85.18% for the logistic regression), whereas posterior probabilities ranged between 0.71 and 0.85. The procedures were then applied in an archaeological sample of 32 individuals from the Roman (I-III century AC) cemetery of Ossonoba Romana (Faro, Portugal) in order to test the relevance of their use in this geographical-related sample. The results of correct estimation are higher than 75% for three formulae and four combinations of variables in the Bayesian approach. Although phenotypic variation may be a factor influencing the sex estimations, canine odontometrics are powerful tools when previously tested and can increase the amount of data obtained for paleodemographic and forensic purposes. In this case, some of the methods developed for the modern sample can be used in archaeological samples and in spatial and temporal-related skeletal collections.
2013 •
International Journal of Osteoarchaeology
Luna, L., C. Aranda and A. L. Santos 2017. New method for sex prediction using the human non-adult auricular surface of the ilium in the Collection of Identified Skeletons of the University of Coimbra. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 27: 898-911.2017 •
Sex estimation in non-adult skeletons is crucial in bioarchaeology and forensic anthropology. It was not extensively considered in the past, mainly because it was stated that the dimorphic osteological features were difficult to identify before adulthood. Over the past few years, this statement was disproved, and the study of numerous dimorphic non-adult skeletal traits was approached. This paper presents a new methodology that evaluates the auricular surface of the non-adult ilia. Several morphological and continuous variables were recorded for 34 individuals (21 females and 13 males) aged between 7 and 18 from the Coimbra Identified Skeletons Collection (University of Coimbra, Portugal). The results show low intra and inter-observer errors for all the variables, which renders the methodology replicable. Two ratios related to the shape of the anterior area of the auricular surface offer the most dimorphic data (proportions of cases correctly assigned: 0.82 and 0.88; sexual allocation probabilities: 0.85 for both variables). A discriminant function and a logistic regression were developed, which correctly classified the 82.35 and the 88.23% of the individuals, respectively. Moreover, two qualitative variables, referred to as the overall morphology and the apex morphology, also show statistically significant differences between males and females (proportions of correct assignation: 0.82 and 0.76; sexual allocation probabilities: 0.79 and 0.76). These variables can be incorporated in a multifactorial approach together with other indicators already available in the specialised literature in order to help improve the accuracy of the results obtained. This methodological procedure has to be applied with other identified samples, including younger individuals, so as to test whether the trends presented in this context are maintained and are useful in populations from a different geographical provenience.
Journal of Forensic Sciences
Mandibular Morphology as an Indicator of Human Subadult Age: Interlandmark Approaches2007 •
Journal of Archaeological Research
New directions in bioarchaeology: Recent contributions to the study of human social identities2008 •
La información que aporta la dentición humana desde una perspectiva bioarqueológica ofrece múltiples vías de análisis e interpretación. Específicamente en lo que respecta a la generación de perfiles de mortalidad su contribución es de fundamental importancia. En este trabajo se discuten los alcances explicativos de un procedimiento de doble validación de numerosos métodos, a partir del estudio de los restos dentales procedentes del sitio Chenque I (Parque Nacional Lihué Calel, provincia de La Pampa). También se comparan los patrones demográficos derivados de la implementación, por un lado, de esta propuesta para la obtención de datos sobre la edad de muerte y el sexo de los individuos inhumados y por otro, de la aplicación exclusiva de los métodos tradicionales. De esta manera fue posible estimar que un mínimo de 216 individuos, de ambos sexos y de categorías de edad diversas, fueron inhumados en el sitio. Los resultados obtenidos remarcan las importantes variaciones interpoblacionales en las características fenotípicas relacionadas con el proceso de crecimiento y desarrollo y con las manifestaciones del dimorfismo sexual humano, lo cual requiere de una reflexión previa a la aplicación de métodos que evalúe cuáles de ellos son adecuados para cada muestra en particular. Se subraya de esta forma la importancia de diseñar protocolos de validación y se destaca la gran cantidad de información que ofrece la dentición para resolver problemas paleodemográficos.
One of the principal problems facing paleodemography is age estimation in adult skeletons and the centrist tendency that affects many age estimation methods by artificially increasing the proportion of individuals in the 30-45 year age category. Several recent publications have indicated that cementum annulations are significantly correlated with known age of extraction or death. This study addresses the question of how demographic dynamics are altered for an archaeological sample when cementum-based age estimates are used as opposed to those obtained via conventional macroscopic methods. Age pyramids were constructed and demographic profiles were compared for the early Holocene skeletal population from Damdama (India). The results demonstrate that the use of cementum annulations for age estimation in only a subset of the skeletal sample has a significant impact on the demographic profile with regard to specific parameters such as mean age at death and life expectancy at birth. This confirms the importance of using cementum annulations to refine age estimates in archaeological samples, which, when combined with a fertility-centered approach to demography, can provide new insights into population dynamics in the past.
Fraser, J. and Williams, R. (Eds.), Handbook of Forensic Science. London: Willan, p. 84-112. ISBN 9781843923121 (Print), 9781843927327 (Online) doi: 10.4324/9781843927327.ch4
Forensic Anthropology and Human Identification From the Skeleton2009 •
Smithsonian contributions to anthropology
Biological Anthropology of Latin America: Historical Development and Recent Advances2019 •
Journal of Archaeological Research
Recent progress in bioarchaeology: approaches to the osteological paradox2003 •
Journal of Forensic Sciences
New Formulae for Estimating Age-at-Death in the Balkans Utilizing Lamendin’s Dental Technique and Bayesian Analysis2008 •
American Journal of Physical …
Using the life history model to set the stage (s) of growth and senescence in bioarchaeology and paleodemography2010 •
2013 •
American journal of physical anthropology
The history and composition of the Raymond A. Dart Collection of Human Skeletons at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa2009 •
Journal of Forensic Sciences
Skeletal Estimation and Identification in American and East European Populations2008 •
American journal of …
Differential skeletal preservation at Windover Pond: causes and consequences2002 •
International Journal of Paleopathology
Cementochronology, to cut or not to cut?2014 •
Archeological Papers of The American Anthropological Association
Redefining Childhood through Bioarchaeology: Toward an Archaeological and Biological Understanding of Children in Antiquity2005 •
2007 •
Journal of anthropological sciences = Rivista di antropologia : JASS / Istituto italiano di antropologia
Forensic anthropology in Europe: an assessment of current status and application2011 •
American Journal of Physical Anthropology
Skeletal biology of Apurguan: A precontact Chamorro site on Guam1997 •
2009 •
Forensic Science International
Age estimation by pulp/tooth area ratio in canines: Study of a Portuguese sample to test Cameriere's method2009 •
American Journal of Physical Anthropology
Basics in paleodemography: A comparison of age indicators applied to the early medieval skeletal sample of Lauchheim2008 •
Gerhard Hotz, Jo Buckberry, Clark Larsen, Joachim Wahl, Svenja Weise
Evolutionary Anthropology
Paleodemography: “Not quite dead1994 •
International Journal of Paleopathology
The leprosarium of Saint-Thomas d’Aizier: The cementochronological proof of the medieval decline of Hansen disease in Europe?2015 •