Stature estimation in ancient Egyptians: A new technique based on anatomical reconstruction of stature

Abstract

Trotter and Gleser's (Trotter and Gleser: Am J Phys Anthropol 10 (1952) 469-514; Trotter and Gleser: Am J Phys Anthropol 16 (1958) 79-123) long bone formulae for US Blacks or derivations thereof (Robins and Shute: Hum Evol 1 (1986) 313-324) have been previously used to estimate the stature of ancient Egyptians. However, limb length to stature proportions differ between human populations; consequently, the most accurate mathematical stature estimates will be obtained when the population being examined is as similar as possible in proportions to the population used to create the equations. The purpose of this study was to create new stature regression formulae based on direct reconstructions of stature in ancient Egyptians and assess their accuracy in comparison to other stature estimation methods. We also compare Egyptian body proportions to those of modern American Blacks and Whites. Living stature estimates were derived using a revised Fully anatomical method (Raxter et al.: Am J Phys Anthropol 130 (2006) 374-384). Long bone stature regression equations were then derived for each sex. Our results confirm that, although ancient Egyptians are closer in body proportion to modern American Blacks than they are to American Whites, proportions in Blacks and Egyptians are not identical. The newly generated Egyptian-based stature regression formulae have standard errors of estimate of 1.9-4.2 cm. All mean directional differences are less than 0.4% compared to anatomically estimated stature, while results using previous formulae are more variable, with mean directional biases varying between 0.2% and 1.1%, tibial and radial estimates being the most biased. There is no evidence for significant variation in proportions among temporal or social groupings; thus, the new formulae may be broadly applicable to ancient Egyptian remains.

Estimation of stature and body mass from the skeleton among coastal and mid‐altitude andean populations

“…As expected, equations derived from lower limb bones perform better than those derived from upper limb bones based on r and SEE values, but the upper limb equations can be useful where lower limb bones are not preserved. SEEs are comparable with those of other studies using similar methods (e.g., Auerbach and Ruff, 2010;Béguelin, 2011;Raxter et al, 2008;Vercellotti et al, 2009).…”

“…This broad range of equations was selected to explore the accuracy of previously published stature estimates for Andean skeletal samples (which have been based on Genovés, 1967or Trotter, 1970, 1958, 1977, and to explore the potential applicability of reportedly universal equations (Feldesman and Fountain, 1996) or those from hypothetically more morphologically similar New World groups. Analyses focused on equations using lower limb bone measurements, because these bones show a closer relationship to stature than upper limb bones as they form a direct component of final stature (Auerbach and Ruff, 2010;Raxter et al, 2008;. The ''Mexican'' equations of Trotter (1970) were not used because they are available for males only.…”

“…Although such estimates obviously carry their own errors, they provide a basis for deriving samplespecific regression equations for use in less well-preserved archaeological individuals and/or samples (Raxter et al, 2006). Following recent revisions to and clarification of Fully's (1956;Fully and Pineau, 1960) anatomical stature reconstruction method (Raxter et al, 2006(Raxter et al, , 2007, there has been a florescence of studies presenting sample-specific regression equations using this approach (Auerbach, 2007;Auerbach and Ruff, 2010;Béguelin, 2011;Kurki et al, 2010;Maijanen and Niskanen, 2010;Raxter et al, 2008;Sciulli and Hetland, 2007;Vercellotti et al, 2009).…”

Body size estimation of small‐bodied humans: Applicability of current methods

“…(Zakrzewski, 2003(Zakrzewski, , 2007Pfeiffer and Sealy, 2006;Stynder et al, 2007;Giannecchini and Moggi-Cecchi, 2008;Ginter, 2008). Recent research relating to stature and body mass estimation in various skeletal populations (e.g., Auerbach and Ruff, 2004;Raxter et al, 2006Raxter et al, , 2008Giannecchini and Moggi-Cecchi, 2007;Smith, 2007;Ruff, 2007;Scuilli and Blatt, 2008) emphasizes the importance of these variables to anthropologists in archaeological and forensic contexts.…”

Shepespuptah Idu According to Evidence from his Rock-Cut Tomb at Abusir South

“…The examination revealed that Shepespuptah was around 173 cm tall (Raxter et al 2008) and lived until 35-50 years of age. His skeletal remains show numerous pathological changes, which undoubtedly complicated his life (for the report in Czech, see Havelková 2013: 49-50).…”