Mays, S., Rua, C. and Molleson, T. I. (1995). Molar crown height as a means of evaluating existing dental wear scales for estimating age at death in human skeletal remains. J Archaeol Sci 22 (5). Vol 22(5), pp. 659-670.

Title: Molar crown height as a means of evaluating existing dental wear scales for estimating age at death in human skeletal remains
Issue: J Archaeol Sci 22 (5)
Series: Journal of Archaeological Science
Volume: 22 (5)
Page Start/End: 659 - 670
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Publication Type: Journal
Abstract: This study uses skeletons from Poundbury cemetery (Dorset) to evaluate Brothwell's (1963) system for scoring molar wear for age estimation in adult skeletons from archaeological sites. Among the juveniles a highly significant relationship was found between crown height and dental age, confirming the utility of this measurement in the study of individual age at death. In the group as a whole, wear on teeth which are occlusal partners is strongly correlated, hence information loss by considering only upper or lower teeth is minor for the purposes of ageing. The remainder of the paper concentrates on mandibular molars. It appears that mandibular first and second molars wear at similar rates throughout life. Wear on the third molar is more variable and hence should be given less weight in age determination. The results confirm the value of dental wear for estimating age at death, and comparison of crown heights with Brothwell's stages confirms the value of his scheme for scoring wear. However, the definitions of some stages were problematic, and in this light some revisions are suggested. There are problems in applying tooth wear data to age older adults in archaeological populations, particularly as many of these show substantial ante-mortem loss of teeth. It is suggested that for archaeological populations, young adults (17--35) may be distinguished from mature adults (35--55) on the basis of dental wear using Brothwell's chart. In archaeological groups, adults showing losses of more than about 50% of their teeth ante-mortem are probably aged over about 55 years at death.
Author: Simon Mays
Concepcion de la Rua
Theya I Molleson
Year of Publication: 1995
Subjects / Periods:
Teeth (Auto Detected Subject)
Human Skeletal Remains (Auto Detected Subject)
Source:
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BIAB (The British Archaeological Bibliography (BAB))
Created Date: 20 Jan 2002