14 6 Forensic dentistryin microscopic cross sections of cortex will diminish, and the num-
ber of partly replaced structural units of old bone, osteon fragments,
will increase. These changes have been documented and calibrated
by various authors for a number of sites in the skeleton,43–45 and
are of use in the aging skeleton because the process of turnover on
which it is based extends throughout life. As is the case with other
techniques, error in the calculated age range by histomorphological
methods increases with time.8.2.4.4 Stature and Physique
The calculation of stature from the skeleton involves determining the length(s)
of long bones, which are then used individually or in combinations in regres-
sion equations to determine living stature.46,47 The anthropologist will be
able to select the correct stature algorithm(s) only after determining sex and
ancestry since the long bones have proportionally different relationships to
overall stature in different sexes and populations. Since the estimated stature
derives from long bone lengths that do not change significantly after matu-
rity, this approach gives a range that does not take into consideration loss of
stature from compression of the spinal fibrocartilages. A correction is usu-
ally applied for individuals whose age is estimated to be over thirty years.^48
Statures for children whose long bones have not completed longitudinal
development are based upon the diaphyseal length. When long bones are
incomplete because of trauma or taphonomic effects, it is sometimes possible
to estimate the vital length of some bones by proportionality techniques.^49
The estimated lengths are then used in calculation of stature with the caveat
that this approach introduces additional error in final calculated stature,
thus widening the range estimate. In general, the best estimates of stature
are based upon multiple bones, which are used in algorithms derived from
population data reflecting current secular trends.
Anthropologists are sometimes asked to render estimates of the living
weight of a decedent who has been reduced to bones. Putting aside ancillary
information such as belts, shoes, and other clothing that may accompany
remains, the answer will require strong qualification. Since an individual
may lose as much as 50% of his or her body mass over a relatively short
time (e.g., cachexia, starvation, etc.), such estimates are always questionable,
and particularly so when the decedent appears to have been an indigent.
Accordingly, statements about frame size, proportionality, and the distribu-
tion of muscularity are preferable. Cross-sectional thickness or simply the
weight of various bones in combination with proportionality ratios can pro-
vide information about how much soft tissue weight an individual might be
expected to carry. This picture may be refined by a careful examination of
entheses, the points of tendon insertion, which are modified by muscular
activity over a period of time. Thus, one may arrive at an estimate of how