Transition analysis 3: Skeletal age estimation program

Area of Science:

• Forensic Anthropology
• Bioarchaeology
• Human Osteology

Background:

• Accurate age estimation in adult human skeletons is crucial for forensic and archaeological investigations.
• Existing methods often lack precision, especially with incomplete skeletal remains.
• Human skeletal variation necessitates robust and adaptable age estimation techniques.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a novel computer program, TA3-V1.0, for estimating adult age at death.
• To integrate multiple age-of-transition curves for enhanced accuracy.
• To provide reliable age estimation for both complete and incomplete human skeletal remains.

Main Methods:

• Generated 47 skeletal structure and 69 transition curves using data from 1638 modern known-age skeletons across four continents.
• Developed the TA3-V1.0 computer program to calculate maximum likelihood estimates and confidence intervals (80%, 90%, 95%).
• Incorporated individualized estimation capabilities based on present anatomical structures and an old-age adjustment feature.

Main Results:

• The TA3-V1.0 program demonstrates high accuracy in age estimation.
• With an old-age adjustment, the correlation between true and estimated ages reached 0.92.
• Without the adjustment, the correlation was 0.91, indicating strong overall performance.

Conclusions:

• TA3-V1.0 provides a significant advancement in the accurate estimation of age at death for adult human skeletons.
• The program's flexibility accommodates diverse skeletal samples and research needs in forensics and archaeology.
• The developed method offers reliable and precise age estimations, improving the interpretation of skeletal evidence.