What can a small joint surface on the pelvic bone reveal?
The pelvic bone can tell anthropologists a lot. For example, the pelvis can be used to estimate sex in adults. It is even possible to specify the approximate age of an individual at the time of death thanks to specific spots on the pelvic bone. Traditional methods of estimating age at death rely on expert knowledge. Their estimate may be subjectively influenced and may not be accurate. Significant advances in technology have brought new methods of age estimation to anthropological research. Scientists from the 3D Imaging and Analysis Laboratory, icluding Anežka Pilmann Kotěrová, at the Department of Human Anthropology and Genetics, Faculty of Science, Charles University, have come up with a new method using 3D scans of bone surfaces and subsequent computer analysis.
Source: freepik.com
In anthropology, various anatomical regions such as the sternal ends of ribs, articular surfaces on the pelvic bone, the hip socket or the structure of epiphysis of long bones are used to estimate the age of an individual at the time of death. Traditional procedures usually consist of experts visually evaluating certain features on the bone according to given criteria. Based on the resulting score or stage, the individual is then given an age range, depending on the method. In addition to the subjectivity of the evaluation of age-related alterations and the dependence on the experience of the evaluator, a problem with traditional methods is the frequent overestimation of the age of younger individuals and underestimation of the age of older individuals.
The new methods do not rely on expert estimates, but on complex software analysis. First, the pelvic bone is completely scanned. This process produces a detailed 3D image of the bone surface. From this 3D reconstruction, a specific point of interest is selected and converted into mathematical coordinates. This is followed by a complex computer analysis, which is performed using the CoxAGE3D software, which is available online. The software can estimate the age of an individual with an error of between 9 and 11.5 years for both sexes, depending on the number and combination of embedded articular surface scans.
Source: authors of the original study
A complication of accurately estimating an individual's age at death, especially in a multi-population setting, may be that different populations exhibit different rates of aging. Furthermore, there are sex differences in aging, as males and females may show different aging patterns on their bones. The new method is designed to be applicable regardless of an individual's population or sex.
The potential of anthropological software for estimating the age of an individual at the time of death lies primarily in the fact that it eliminates the factor of subjectivity in the evaluation of age-related changes. Further, it reduces the demands on the experience of the evaluator. The combination of information from 3D scans of the surface of the hip socket, pubic symphysis and auricular surface of the pelvic bone can yield more accurate age estimation.
Anežka Ševčíková
Michal Štepanovský, Zdeněk Buk, Anežka Pilmann Kotěrová, Jaroslav Brůžek, Šárka Bejdová, Nawaporn Techataweewan, Jana Velemínská, Automated age‐at‐death estimation from 3D surface scans of the facies auricularis of the pelvic bone, Forensic Science International, Volume 349, 2023, 111765, ISSN 0379-0738, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2023.111765.
The following publications were also drawn upon:
Kotěrová, A., Štepanovský, M., Buk, Z., Brůžek, J., Techataweewan, N., & Velemínská, J. (2022). The computational age‐at‐death estimation from 3D surface models of the adult pubic symphysis using data mining methods. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 10324.
Michal Štepanovský, Zdeněk Buk, Anežka Pilmann Kotěrová, Jaroslav Brůžek, Šárka Bejdová, Nawaporn Techataweewan, Jana Velemínská, Application of data-mining methods in age‐at‐death estimation from 3D surface scans of the adult acetabulum (in review)
Published:
Oct 11, 2023 06:40 PM
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