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An Evaluation of the Calce Method for Age Estimation.
Jessica F Lam1, Alexandra C Johansen2, Tracy L Rogers2
1Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Mississauga, ON, L5L 1C6, Canada. jfl6@le.ac.uk.
Journal of Forensic Sciences
|June 21, 2016
Summary
The Calce method for skeletal age estimation shows low accuracy, particularly for Japanese samples. Refinements to trait descriptions are needed for better reliability in forensic anthropology.
Area of Science:
- Forensic Anthropology
- Bioarchaeology
- Human Osteology
Background:
- Skeletal age estimation is crucial in forensic anthropology.
- The Calce method utilizes the acetabular surface of the os coxa.
- Previous studies reported high accuracy for the Calce method.
Purpose of the Study:
- To validate the accuracy of the Calce method for skeletal age estimation.
- To assess the method's performance on a Japanese sample.
- To identify potential areas for method refinement.
Main Methods:
- The Calce method was applied to individuals from the J.C.B. Grant Skeletal collection.
- Two analysts assessed 30 individuals from the original Calce study sample.
- The method was tested on 30 Japanese individuals from Nagasaki University.
Main Results:
- Pilot tests on 55 individuals yielded 54.5% accuracy.
- Re-assessment of 30 individuals showed accuracies of 53.3% and 56.7%, significantly lower than the reported 81%.
- Testing on Japanese samples resulted in low accuracies (40% and 46.7%) and high interobserver error (43.3%).
Conclusions:
- The Calce method demonstrates low accuracy and poor performance on Japanese samples.
- High interobserver error suggests issues with current trait descriptions.
- Refining trait descriptions is recommended to improve the reliability of the Calce method.
