The application of 3D laser scanning to the analysis of human skeletal remains provides the opportunity for new methodological approaches, including for the assessment of age at death. The focus of this new perspective revolves around the question of whether morphological development of skeletal features can be captured with quantitative measurements taken from 3D scanned representations of physical specimens, with the aims of adding an increased level of accuracy and precision over currently employed age estimations methods that focus on visual, and often subjective, assessments based comparisons with plaster casts and written descriptions. The current research was conducted to determine if specific morphological features of the pubic symphysis could be isolated and quantified on 3D models, and whether these measurements captured the general age related trends of symphyseal development. Using CAD software, each symphyseal face was divided into half and quadrant specific sections in an attempt to better capture the development of symphyseal morphology. A sample of left male pubic symphyses (n = 40) scanned from a well-documented collection of known-age individuals (Coimbra Identified Skeletal Collection) was selected for this study. Seven symphyseal features were identified from the Suchey-Brooks method unisex age phase descriptions. Eight measurements were generated to quantify these features. The data for each feature was subjected to linear regression analyses to test for statistical correspondence to known chronological age at death. Rim completeness, billowing height and area, and depth of symphyseal face depression demonstrated the strongest relationships with chronological age, while curvature of the ventral rampart and the angle of the dorsal aspect, showed significant but weak relationships with known age. Degree of dorsal lipping and dorsal rampart curvature showed no relationship with age. The results of the study suggest that quantitative assessments of morphological changes at the pubic symphysis are possible and therefore can potentially add further insights into age at death estimations based on the pubic symphysis, as measurements taken within CAD software are far more precise than traditional measuring implements. This study illustrates the potential for 3D imaging to improve the methods of osteological analyses applied particularly in the fields of bioarchaeology and forensic anthropology. / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uvic.ca/oai:dspace.library.uvic.ca:1828/3490 |
| Date | 24 August 2011 |
| Creators | Gray, Adam |
| Contributors | Kurki, Helen Kaarina |
| Source Sets | University of Victoria |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | Available to the World Wide Web |
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