Age estimation using vertebral bone spurs; Testing the efficacy of three methods on a European population

Forensic Science International Reports, vol. 6, pp. 100301

Abstract

Age-at-death estimation is an essential step in both bioarchaeological and forensic studies when human remains are found, as this can also contribute to the identification of the individual. It is critical that age-at-death methods be tested verified in various populations, to obtain the most accurate estimation, making research into new age-at-death methods also imperative. Since osteophyte formation on the vertebral column increases with age, this can be used as a possible method of age-at-death estimation. Snodgrass (2004), Watanabe and Terazawa (2006) and Praneatpolgrang et al. (2019) have tested this method before and have provided promising results. We test the efficacy of Snodgrass (2004), Watanabe and Terazawa (2006), and Praneatpolgrang et al. (2019) on a 19th-century archivally recorded Dutch population. A total of 88 individuals, 40 males, and 48 females were scored for the degree of osteophyte formation on the vertebral column. In addition to testing the three methods above, population-specific regression equations were developed and tested. Accuracy percentages for estimating the age-at-death based on the mean osteophyte score of the entire vertebral column were obtained for all three methods (73.86%, 76.14%, and 72.73%, respectively). In this study, a general pattern of osteophyte formation could be established, which is useful for estimating the age at death. We therefore recommend that this method can be used, cautiously as a means of age-at-death estimation.

Authors 4

1. Iris Sluis corresponding

   Maastricht University

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of law, Maastricht University, Minderbroedersberg 4–6, 6211LK Maastricht, the Netherlands

2. Bjørn Peare Bartholdy Aachen Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 2, 2333CC Leiden, the Netherlands

3. Menno L. P. Hoogland Aachen Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 2, 2333CC Leiden, the Netherlands

4. Sarah A. Schrader Aachen Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 2, 2333CC Leiden, the Netherlands