Why do we fail in aging the skull from the sagittal suture?

1997/07/01 by Israel Hershkovitz, Israël Hershkovitz, Bruce Latimer +6 · 6 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Arts and Humanities · #Craniofacial Disorders and Treatments #Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies #dental development and anomalies

paper · doi:10.1002/(sici)1096-8644(199707)103:3<393::aid-ajpa8>3.0.co;2-r

Abstract

The controversy over the reliability of ectocranial suture status (open vs. closed) as an age estimation stimulated the pursuit of Meindl and Lovejoy's suggestion (Meindl and Lovejoy [1985] Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 68:57-66) for large scale analysis. The extent of the sagittal suture closure was assessed in 3,636 skulls from the Hamann-Todd and Terry collections. The debate over whether cranial suture ossification represents a pathologic or an age-predictable pathologic process also stimulated a comparison with age and two stress markers, hyperostosis frontalis interna and tuberculosis. Sagittal suture closure was found to be age-independent and sexually biased. The wide confidence intervals (for age) appear to preclude meaningful application of suture status for age determination. No correlation was found with the tested biological stressors.

Citations

• Ectocranial suture closure: A revised method for the determination of skeletal age at death based on the lateral‐anterior sutures

Cited by

• Proposing a way forward: A review of standardisation in the use of age categories and ageing techniques in osteological analysis (2004–2009)
• Changes in biomechanical strain and morphology of rat calvarial sutures and bone after Tgf-β3 inhibition of posterior interfrontal suture fusion. [europepmc]
• Age estimation by multidetector CT images of the sagittal suture. [europepmc]
• Estimation of age in forensic anthropology: historical perspective and recent methodological advances. [europepmc]
• Cranial sutures as an age indicator: verification of the method using postmortem CT acquisition material. [europepmc]
• The Hamann-Todd Human Osteological Collection: A Representative Sample? [europepmc]

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