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Full-Text Articles in Forensic Biology
Applicability Of Cementochronology To Estimate Season-Of-Death In Humans: Insights From Modern Documented Collections, Olga Ibarra-Sanchez
Applicability Of Cementochronology To Estimate Season-Of-Death In Humans: Insights From Modern Documented Collections, Olga Ibarra-Sanchez
Theses and Dissertations
Dental cementum is characterized by lifelong deposition of alternating opaque annuli in fall/winter and translucent bands in spring/summer. This study aims to test the applicability of cementochronology to estimate season-of-death, by observing the properties of the last layer, with direct implications for forensic anthropology and bioarchaeology. The sample includes canine teeth from 146 adults (84 males, 62 females), age-at-death ranging from 20-97 years (mean=61.7 years, SD=18.6 years), from two contemporary skeletal collections. Of these individuals, 78 (53.4%) died in spring/summer and 68 (46.6%) died in fall/winter. Overall accuracy was low at 64.4% (94/146). Accuracy was higher for spring/summer deaths 100.0% …