Testing the applicability of six macroscopic skeletal aging techniques on a modern Southeast Asian sample

Most macroscopic skeletal aging techniques used by forensic anthropologists have been developed and tested only on reference material from western populations. This study examined the performance of six aging techniques on a known age sample of 88 Southeast Asian individuals. Methods examined included the Suchey-Brooks method of aging the symphyseal face of the os pubis (Brooks and Suchey, Hum. Evol. 5 (1990) 227), Buckberry and Chamberlain's (Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 119 (2002) 231), and Osborne et al.'s (J. Forensic Sci. 49 (2004) 1) revisions of the Lovejoy et al. (Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 68 (1985) 15) method of aging the auricular surface of the ilium, Iscan et al.'s (J. Forensic Sci. 29 (1984) 1094, J. Forensic Sci. 30 (1985) 853) method of aging the sternal end of the fourth rib, and Meindl and Lovejoy's (Am. J. Phys Anthropol. 68 (1985) 57) methods for aging both lateral-anterior and vault sutures on the cranium. The results of this study indicate that application of aging techniques commonly used in forensic anthropology to individuals identified as Asian, and more specifically Southeast Asian, should not be undertaken injudiciously. Of the six individual methods tested here, the Suchey-Brooks pubic symphysis aging method performs best, though average age estimates were still off by nearly 10 years or greater. Methods for aging the auricular surface perform next best, though the Osborne et al. method works better for individuals below 50 years and the Buckberry and Chamberlain method works better for those above 50 years. Methods for age estimation from the sternal ends of the fourth rib and vault and lateral-anterior cranial sutures perform poorly and are not recommended for use on remains of Southeast Asian ancestry. Combining age estimates from multiple indicators, specifically the pubic symphysis and one auricular surface method, was superior to individual methods. Data and a worked example are provided for calculating the conditional probability that an individual belongs to a particular age decade, though overall age estimates may still be broad.