Remodeling Forensic Skeletal Age: Modern Applications and New Research Directions

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Remodeling Forensic Skeletal Age: Modern Applications and New Research Directions
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Contents
Contributors
Looking back and forward: An introduction—Defining, refining, and [re]modeling age estimation: A trajectory for forensic a ...
	The challenge of advanced aging: Synthesizing theory, method, and forensic practice
	New contributions to aging problems: Chapter summaries
		Section A. Long-standing problems of ``the population´´
		Section B. Aging across the ages
		Section C. Computational methods come of age
		Section D. Classic indicators rejuvenated
	Final thoughts: Aging beyond this volume
	References
Section A: Longstanding problems of ``the population´´
	Chapter 1: Using data from the US Korean War Dead and the Terry Collection to demonstrate problems of the common ``overla ...
		Material and methods
			Reference sample
			Test sample
			Prior age distribution
			Multivariate cumulative probit model for the reference data
			Metropolis-Hastings simulation of ages
		Results
			Metropolis-Hastings estimation of ages and age-at-death structure (``transition analysis´´)
			Overlap methods and age estimation
			The number of overlapping intervals
		Discussion
		Acknowledgments
		References
	Chapter 2: Testing for differences in senescence using score data to understand the effects of reference sample choices
		Samples and data
		Methodological approach and analytical framework
		Testing for sample effects using a single age estimator
		Testing for sex and race effects using multiple age estimators
		Discussion
		References
Section B: Aging across the ages
	Chapter 3: Subadult age estimation variables: Exploring their varying roles across ontogeny
		Background
			Subadult age estimation
			Subadult age indicators
		Statistical explorations of correlation and conditional dependence
			Correlations through ontogeny
			Conditional dependence
				Interpretation
		Conclusions
		Acknowledgments
		References
	Chapter 4: Aging the elderly: Does the skull tell us something about age at death?
		Introduction
			Challenges to adult age estimation
				The problem of aging the elderly
				The problem of the cranium
				A pathway forward?
				Skull alterations with age
		Material and methods
			The sample
			Trait assessment criteria
			A brief description of the analyzed traits
		Statistical analysis
			Tests of reliability
			Correlation of real age with expected results
		Results
			Observer error
			Relationship to age
		Results per variable
			Weight
			Alveolar resorption
			Canine fossa depth
			Skull bones translucencies
				Parietals
			Biparietal atrophy
			Syncipital T
			Osteoarthritis in skull joints
				TMJ
			Occipital condyles
			Suture obliteration
				Coronal
				Sagittal
				Lambdoid
		Discussion
		References
		Further reading
	Chapter 5: Population variation in diaphyseal growth and age estimation of juvenile skeletal remains
		Introduction
		Samples
		Research hypotheses and predictions
		Analysis
		Results
		Discussion
		Conclusion
		References
	Chapter 6: Great expectations: The rise, fall, and resurrection of adult skeletal age estimation
		Good age estimates
			Skeletal traits
			Method requirements
		Conventional procedure results
		Resulting misconceptions
		Is there hope?
		A path forward
		Recommendations
		Acknowledgments
		References
Section C: Computational methods come of age
	Chapter 7: A volumetric approach to age estimation informed by voxel selection: Application to the spheno-occipital syn
		Methods
			Population demographics
			Volumetric synchondrosis measurement/quantification
			Statistical analysis
		Results
			Density changes of the endocranial surface
			Percentage compositional changes with age
			Standardized cartilaginous area
			Cumulative proportion functions
		Discussion
		Conclusions
		Acknowledgments
		References
	Chapter 8: The consecutive inference of ancestry and age from shape measures of the pubic symphysis
		Introduction
		Data acquisition
		Implementation
		Statistical analysis
			Measures of PS surface morphology
			Admixture approach to ancestry estimation
			Assigning ancestry by hard clustering
			Determining ancestry by supervised classification
		Discussion
		References
Section D: Classic indicators rejuvenated
	Chapter 9: The fallacy of forensic age estimation from morphometric quantifications of the pubic symphysis
		Introduction
		A theorem about inverse regression
		The fallacy here perfectly describes pubic symphysis data
		The only solution is to change the problem
		Concluding remark
		Acknowledgments
		References
	Chapter 10: An application of the Bayesian SanMillán-Rissech acetabular aging method to an African American sampl
		Introduction
		Samples and methods
			Samples
			Methods
			Statistical analyses
		Results
		Discussion
		Acknowledgments
		References
Index
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