A Test of the Revised Auricular Surface Aging Method on a Modern European Population

Moraitis, Konstantinos; Zorba, Eleni; Eliopoulos, Constantine; Fox, Sherry

doi:10.1111/1556-4029.12303

Cited by 48 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 26 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Stage VII was the one that appeared to correspond better with the known ages of the individuals (56-78 years). However, Moraitis et al's [21] study agrees with previous ones that indicated age underestimation for older individuals along with overestimation for younger ones.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 86%

“…The results of the Falys et al paper [20] are in agreement with these of Hens and Belcastro [24], who also concluded that due to the pronounced variation in the age ranges that are associated with each composite score, fewer stages with wider age ranges should be adopted when age estimation from the auricular surface is attempted. Moraitis et al [21], on the other hand, applied the B-C [18] method on a modern Greek sample, namely the Athens Collection, and found a deviation of 5.5-12.6 years on all age stages. However, this study did not provide information on the actual number of individuals from the Athens Collection for whom age could be correctly estimated using the B-C [18] method, rather the authors reported only average age estimates per composite score; therefore, their results are not directly comparable to those of the present study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Results showed that the method was not reliable due to the extensive variation in the morphological changes of the auricular surface and suggested that only very broad age assessments can be reached by adopting it. Moraitis et al [21] applied the B-C [18] method on a modern Greek sample, namely the Athens Collection, and their results showed a variation of 5.5-12.6 years across all age stages. Stage VII was the one that appeared to correspond better with the known ages of the individuals (56-78 years).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The auricular surface as age indicator in a modern Greek sample: A test of two qualitative methods

Michopoulou

Negre²,

Nikita

et al. 2017

Forensic Science International

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Highlights This paper tests the suitability of two qualitative methods of age estimation  The methods are based on the morphology of the auricular surface  Error estimates are provided for direct and indirect observation  Both methods present limited value for accurate age estimates in Greeks  Alternative age markers are more appropriate for skeletonised remains In Greece ABSTRACTThe auricular surface is often found very well preserved, thus age-related changes in this anatomical area can be important for any set of human remains that require identification under different taphonomic conditions. This study tests the Buckberry & Chamberlain (2002) and Schmitt et al. (2005) methods in predicting the age of individuals in a documented sample from Crete, Greece. Both methods were used to record changes on the auricular surface in a mixed-sex sample of 74 individuals, directly as well as through photographs, by two independent observers. Cohen's kappa and intra class correlation coefficients (ICC) were used in order to assess inter-observer and intra-observer agreement. Results showed than none of the methods predicted age with sufficient accuracy, as high error rates were recorded. The Schmitt et al. (2005) method performed better, mainly because the age ranges it uses are broader. Scoring through photographs does not seem to introduce bias in predicting age, as demonstrated by the high intra-observer agreement rates. Inter-observer agreement was also high. The low intra-and interobserver error rates suggest that the poor performance of both methods in the Cretan sample is not due to a lack of clarity in the description of the morphological changes recorded on the auricular surface; rather it should be attributed to a poor correlation between these changes and age at death in our material.

show abstract

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The auricular surface as age indicator in a modern Greek sample: A test of two qualitative methods

Michopoulou

Negre²,

Nikita

et al. 2017

Forensic Science International

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…when the method has been tested on different populations, bias and inaccuracy, based on the mean ages derived from, and reflecting the structure of, the Spitalfields population are commonly used (Falys et al 2006;Gocha et al 2015;Hens and Belcastro 2012;Moraitis et al 2014;Mulhern and Jones 2005;Rissech et al 2012;San Millán et al 2013). Unsurprisingly, given the old demography of the Spitalfields reference sample, the vast majority of these studies have found that the Buckberry-Chamberlain method performs better on older individuals (Falys et al 2006;Gocha et al 2015;Hens and Belcastro 2012;Mulhern and Jones 2005;San Millán et al 2013).…”

Section: Figure 2 Herementioning

confidence: 99%

The (mis)use of adult age estimates in osteology

Buckberry

2015

Annals of Human Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Context: Adult age-at-death is presented in a number of different ways by anthropologists. Ordinal categories predominate in osteoarchaeology, but do not reflect individual variation in ageing, with too many adults being classified as 'middle adults'. In addition, mean ages (derived from reference samples) are overly-relied upon when developing and testing methods. In both cases, 'age mimicry' is not adequately accounted for.Objectives: To highlight the many inherent biases created when developing, testing and applying age-estimation methods without fully considering the impact of 'age mimicry' and individual variation.Methods: The paper draws on previously published research (Web of Science, Pub Med, Google Scholar) on age estimation methods and their use in anthropology.Results and Conclusions: There is a lack of consistency in the methods used to estimate age, and for the mode of combining them. Ordinal categories are frequently used in osteoarchaeology, whereas forensic anthropologists are more likely to produce case-specific age ranges. Mean ages reflect the age structure of reference samples, and should not be used to estimate age for individuals from populations with a different age-at-death structure. Individual-specific age ranges and/or probability densities should be used to report individual age. Further research should be undertaken on how to create unbiased, combined method age estimates. 2Age estimation of adults remains one of the most complex, yet essential, aspects of human skeletal analysis (Aykroyd et al. 1997;Bocquet-Appel and Masset 1982; Hoppa and Vaupel 2002a;Konigsberg and Frankenberg 1992;Milner et al. 2008). In a society ruled by numbers, we are eager to ascribe a specific age to skeletonised remains, either to facilitate the identification of unidentified remains in a forensic situation, or to better interpret the life, death and burial of archaeological humans. Yet many methods of age estimation, especially for adults but also for non-adults, are woefully inadequate at producing point age estimates. Over the last few decades, research into the development, refinement and testing of adult age-estimation methods has expanded, resulting in a plethora of techniques, and variants of techniques, available for application, with the aim of improving accuracy and precision.Age estimation in non-adults, where dental and skeletal maturation are employed to estimate chronological age, typically produces estimates that are both accurate and precise. Dental development in particular has been shown to be minimally affected by external factors such as disease or malnutrition (Elamin and Liversidge 2013) and thus less variation in age for a specific stage of development. Once skeletal maturity has been reached, age is typically estimated using degenerative changes of the skeleton, dental wear and (less frequently) microscopic analysis of bone and cementum. All of these, except tooth cementum annulations, have only a broad relationship with chronological age (Gauthier and Schutkowski 2013;Gro...

show abstract

“…Reconstruction of biological profile of unknown individuals would be incomplete without age determination. Age determination can be performed based on developing dentition, growing skeleton or degenerative changes of the skeleton [1]. For adults, age can be estimated using indicators involved in processes of bone resorption, deposition and remodelling [2].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Methods of Skeletal Age Estimation used by Forensic Anthropologists in Adults: A Review

Priya¹

2017

FRCIJ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Reconstruction of biological profile of unknown individuals would be incomplete without age determination. Forensic anthropologists use skeletal indicators involved in processes of bone resorption, deposition and remodelling which are time-related to estimate age of the individual. Estimating age in adults remains a challenging task to the forensic anthropologists because of the complexity and individual variations seen in the aging process and the gamut of environmental factors influencing the same. Age provided by anthropologists is determined as age range rather than a specific age. It has been noticed that age range determined for younger individuals is narrower than for older individuals. This paper reviews most commonly used skeletal age estimation methods by forensic anthropologists.

show abstract

A Test of the Revised Auricular Surface Aging Method on a Modern European Population

Cited by 48 publications

References 26 publications

The auricular surface as age indicator in a modern Greek sample: A test of two qualitative methods

The auricular surface as age indicator in a modern Greek sample: A test of two qualitative methods

The (mis)use of adult age estimates in osteology

Methods of Skeletal Age Estimation used by Forensic Anthropologists in Adults: A Review

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About