Assessing Biological Mortality Bias From Deciduous Tooth Emergence

Area of Science:

• Paleoanthropology
• Bioarchaeology
• Human Biology

Background:

• Skeletal samples are crucial for inferring living population traits.
• Observed traits in skeletal samples (mortality samples) may differ from living populations due to biological mortality bias.
• Deciduous tooth emergence is a key trait for estimating chronological age in skeletal samples.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess biological mortality bias in deciduous tooth emergence.
• To determine if deciduous tooth emergence in a mortality sample accurately represents the living population.

Main Methods:

• Utilized longitudinal study data from Javanese, Guatemalan, and Bangladeshi children.
• Compared deciduous tooth emergence timing between living and mortality samples.
• Employed parametric hazards analysis to test for significant differences.

Main Results:

• No significant differences in tooth emergence were found between living and mortality samples in Bangladesh and Java.
• A trend towards delayed emergence was observed in the Bangladesh mortality sample.
• The Guatemalan mortality sample showed advanced posterior tooth emergence.
• Pooled analyses across samples revealed no evidence of biological mortality bias.

Conclusions:

• Limited evidence suggests deciduous tooth emergence in skeletal samples does not significantly differ from living populations.
• This finding supports the general reliability of using deciduous tooth emergence for age estimation in bioarchaeology.
• Further research may explore specific regional variations or other traits for potential bias.