In forensic anthropological analysis, the pelvis is of particular interest as it is often a comparatively well-preserved part of the skeleton. This study in age determination uses the acetabulum, the central element of the pelvis, as a... more
In forensic anthropological analysis, the pelvis is of particular interest as it is often a comparatively well-preserved part of the skeleton. This study in age determination uses the acetabulum, the central element of the pelvis, as a complement to the examination of the auricular surface. The test sample consisted of 30 individuals. First, the authors studied the auricular surface using the Lovejoy criteria. Second, they isolated four criteria based on chronological changes in the acetabulum. Third, they conducted an evaluation of each of these variables. The study examines the correlation between these criteria and the age of the individuals. A significant correlation was found between the acetabular criteria and age, and between the acetabular criteria and the Lovejoy criteria of the auricular surface. For forensic purposes, the acetabulum is an effective predictor in the determination of age. This newly proposed method explores the same criteria of ageing as the Lovejoy method. The combination of the two methods produces relatively consistent results in the estimation of age.
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Research Interests: Geography, Principal Component Analysis, Biology, Medicine, Spain, and 15 moreSexual dimorphism, Anatomy, Pregnancy, Humans, Female, Male, Three Dimensional Imaging, Biological evolution, Newborn Infant, Adult, Analysis of Variance, Pelvic Girdle, Parturition, X ray Computed Tomography, and Sex Characteristics
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ABSTRACTObjectiveTo describe the morphological changes of the male femur during the adolescent growth spurt and to compare the pattern obtained with that reported previously for females.Material and MethodsTwo hundred and forty males from... more
ABSTRACTObjectiveTo describe the morphological changes of the male femur during the adolescent growth spurt and to compare the pattern obtained with that reported previously for females.Material and MethodsTwo hundred and forty males from a Spanish population aged between 9 and 16 years were analysed, based on telemetries. Size and shape variation of the femur was quantified by 22 2D‐landmarks and analysed using geometric morphometric methods. Likewise, the variation of neck–shaft and bicondylar angles were also determined and evaluated by Student's t‐test. Sexual differences were analysed by comparing results here obtained on boys with those corresponding to girls reported in a previous study.ResultsIn males, both size and shape varied significantly with age, with males having larger dimensions than females. In general terms, these changes are generally characterised by an increase in robustness of the femur and shape modifications in the epiphyses. During growth, the neck–shaft angle decreases and the size of the greater and lesser trochanters increase. A significant increase of distal epiphyseal dimensions was recorded, mainly in the medial condyle. The angular remodeling of both the neck and the bicondylar regions of the male femur continues until 16 and 15 years, respectively. Female and male femur each followed divergent growth trajectories. Males showed a greater variability in neck–shaft and bicondylar angles than females.DiscussionThe timing, morphology and growth trajectories provided on the femur during development can be very helpful in anthropological, paleoanthropological and evolution studies. Am J Phys Anthropol 159:146–163, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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In this study we describe the development of the female femur based on the analysis of high-resolution radiographic images by means of geometric morphometrics, while assessing the usefulness of this method in these kinds of studies. The... more
In this study we describe the development of the female femur based on the analysis of high-resolution radiographic images by means of geometric morphometrics, while assessing the usefulness of this method in these kinds of studies. The material analysed consisted of digital images in DICOM format (telemetries), corresponding to 184 left femora in anterior view, obtained from the database of the Hospital Sant Joan de Déu of Barcelona (Spain). Bones analysed corresponded to individuals from 9 to 14 years old. Size and shape variation of the entire femur was quantified by 22 two-dimensional landmarks. Landmark digitisation errors were assessed using Procrustes anova test. Centroid size (CS) variation with age was evaluated by an anova test. Shape variation was assessed by principal component analysis. A mancova test between the first five principal components and age, using the CS as covariable, was applied. Results indicated that both size and shape vary significantly with age. Several age-related shape changes remained significant after removing the allometric effect. In general, an increase in the robustness of the bone and noticeable phenotypic changes in certain areas of the femur were observed. During growth in the proximal region of the femur, the collo-diaphyseal angle decreases, the neck of the femur widens and the fovea moves to a lower position, standing more in line with the plane of the neck. Likewise, the size of the greater and lesser trochanters increase. In the distal region, a significant increase of epiphyseal dimensions was recorded, mainly in the medial condyle. The angular remodelling of the neck and the bicondylar region of the femur in females continues until 13 years old. The information provided in the present study increases our knowledge on the timing and morphology of the femur during development, and in particular the morphology of the different femoral ossification centres during development.
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Research Interests: Humanities and Medicine
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The distinction between bones of sheep and bones of goats is a difficult issue in zooarchaeology. Several studies undertaken in the past to facilitate this task have relied upon both qualitative criteria and osteometry. Geometric... more
The distinction between bones of sheep and bones of goats is a difficult issue in zooarchaeology. Several studies undertaken in the past to facilitate this task have relied upon both qualitative criteria and osteometry. Geometric morphometrics has proved to be a powerful tool to evaluate morphological differences in a rigorous and detailed manner. This study aims to analyse variations in the morphology of the calcaneum among sheep and goats based upon two-dimensional geometric morphometrics (GM). Twenty landmarks were selected on the surfaces of 79 calcanea (47 sheep and 32 goats) to calculate the principal components of shape variations among these specimens. Clear interspecific differences in the morphology of this bone were extracted. Most are located on the calcaneal tuber and neck, the sustentacular tali region, the articular surfaces of both the malleolus and the cubonavicular. Furthermore, the use of GM methods has enabled us to assess small but significant amounts of geometr...
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Morphological integration and modularity refer to the degree of covariation between the different components of an anatomical structure. Modularity refers to structures that have components which covary strongly, but at the same time are... more
Morphological integration and modularity refer to the degree of covariation between the different components of an anatomical structure. Modularity refers to structures that have components which covary strongly, but at the same time are relatively independent. Integration refers to the coordinated variation of the components of a functional anatomical structure. The hindlimb basipodium is a complex functional structure. The integration of its parts must arise from a coordinated development and functionality. Our objective in this study was to study the levels of integration of two modules on the calcaneum in domestic sheep. The calcaneum develops from two different centres. One gives rise to the body and its process while the other gives rise to the distal half of the bone. The hypothesis of modularity of two parts of the calcaneum was tested using the Escoufier RV coefficient and an analysis of two blocks of Partial Least Squares. These allowed us to evaluate the level of morpholo...
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Since investigation of the timing of the skeletal traits among the acetabula of different populations is lacking, this study aims to evaluate the relevance of geographical origin in the acetabulum aging process and in the usability of the... more
Since investigation of the timing of the skeletal traits among the acetabula of different populations is lacking, this study aims to evaluate the relevance of geographical origin in the acetabulum aging process and in the usability of the SanMillán-Rissech aging method. The acetabula of 826 European North Americans derived from the Bass Collection (USA) have been analyzed and compared with 611 Portuguese acetabula from the Luis Lopes Collection (Portugal) applying the most updated acetabular age estimation technique (2017). After evaluating and comparing the acetabular aging rates between both populations by Mann–Whitney U tests, the inaccuracy values (bias and absolute error) were analyzed and compared using population-specific reference samples and using references differing in geographical origin by Wilcoxon tests. In general terms, the North Americans age faster than the Portuguese, especially the females, reaching the consecutive acetabular stages at younger ages. Regarding the...
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During the last years ancient DNA and stable isotope analyses has been currently used in archaeological research. These applications totally enlarged limits and possibilities of the zooarchaeological studies changing the historical... more
During the last years ancient DNA and stable isotope analyses has been currently used in archaeological research. These applications totally enlarged limits and possibilities of the zooarchaeological studies changing the historical meaning of the faunal assemblages recovered in archaeological sites. Ancient biomolecular analyses have different advantages from techniques and methods traditionally used in Zooarchaeology. First, the possibility to directly investigate the dynamics and way of life of the living animal populations (i.e. reproductive patterns, dietary habits and movility patterns), very difficult to achieve from traditional approaches. Secondly, broadening the temporal resolution of the samples, getting access to historical events in reduced timescales. These advantages allowed to fall on questions very difficult to evidence from archaeological studies, so far almost invisible. In this work are presented the main research lines and themes investigated from these analyses,...
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Las nuevas tecnicas de imagen de alta resolucion (TAC multicorte, resonancia magnetica, radiografia digital) no solo permiten obtener imagenes reales del cuerpo, sino que generan un conjunto de datos almacenables (Ficheros DICOM) que... more
Las nuevas tecnicas de imagen de alta resolucion (TAC multicorte, resonancia magnetica, radiografia digital) no solo permiten obtener imagenes reales del cuerpo, sino que generan un conjunto de datos almacenables (Ficheros DICOM) que permiten la reconstruccion 3D, 4D y 5D. Este tipo de ficheros permiten todo tipo de tareas de analisis y proceso de imagen, permitiendo examinar una parte corporal de una manera muy precisa e interactiva. Basandonos en la experiencia que nos da el empleo rutinario de estas tecnicas en el sujeto vivo y en algunos casos de fallecidos, esta innovacion tecnologica se presenta como un instrumento de gran utilidad docente en Antropologia Biologica y Biomedicina.
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Research Interests: Geography and Humanities
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The classical age indicators of the innominate have been the pubic symphysis and auricular surface. However, recently, the acetabulum has been highlighted as an indicator of adult age, with applicability in young, middle-aged, and older... more
The classical age indicators of the innominate have been the pubic symphysis and auricular surface. However, recently, the acetabulum has been highlighted as an indicator of adult age, with applicability in young, middle-aged, and older adults. The Rissech acetabular method was developed in a Portuguese population and tested in European and European-Americans, giving estimates within 10 years of age in more than 89% of the sample. The main goal of this paper is to test the Rissech acetabular method in a modern South American sample. The material used for the study was 184 women and 378 men from a Colombian-documented skeletal collection. The obtained morphological scores from the acetabulum were analyzed through the IDADE2 web page, a Bayesian statistical program that estimates a relative likelihood distribution for the target individuals, produces age estimates, and provides 95% confidence intervals. Results showed this method is useful in the modern Colombian population with an average absolute error of 10.63 years in females and 9.44 years in males. These errors are similar to those obtained in other European and North American samples when this method was performed and similar or lower than those obtained when the 3 classical aging methods (Suchey-Brooks, Buckberry-Chamberlain, and Lovejoy) were applied in the same collection (absolute error: 10.29 years ♀ and 9.05 years ♂ in Suchey-Brooks, 12.5 years ♀, and 12.17 years ♀ in Buckberry-Chamberlain, and 13.54 years ♀ and 10.99 years ♂ in Lovejoy). Although Rissech’s method was developed in a Western European sample, the results of this study indicate its applicability in modern Colombian samples with reasonable accuracy.
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L'estimació de l'edat de la mort del material esquelètic és un del primers passos per a l'anàlisi de restes osteològiques humanes. Malgrat la seva importància, l'estimació d'edat adulta no està ben resolta; per aquesta... more
L'estimació de l'edat de la mort del material esquelètic és un del primers passos per a l'anàlisi de restes osteològiques humanes. Malgrat la seva importància, l'estimació d'edat adulta no està ben resolta; per aquesta raó recentment s'està explorant l'aplicació de nous models matemàtics i nous marcadors d'edat adulta. En aquest article s'explica un d'aquests nous mètodes ideats pels autors.La estimación de la edad de muerte del material esquelético es uno del primeros pasos en el análisis de restos osteológicos humanos. A pesar de su importancia, la estimación de la edad adulta no está bien resuelta; por esta razón recientemente se está explorando la aplicación de nuevos modelos matemáticos y nuevos marcadores de edad adulta. En este artículo se explica uno de estos nuevos métodos, ideado por los autores.The estimation of age-at-death of human osteological remains is important for both Anthropology and Forensic Medicine. In spite of its impor...
Resumen Para valorar la incidencia de algunas patologías (artritis reumatoide, artritis crónica juvenil, espondilitis anquilosante, artritis psoriásica, síndrome de Reiter, y tuberculosis ) en los indicadores de edad del coxal adulto, se... more
Resumen Para valorar la incidencia de algunas patologías (artritis reumatoide, artritis crónica juvenil, espondilitis anquilosante, artritis psoriásica, síndrome de Reiter, y tuberculosis ) en los indicadores de edad del coxal adulto, se realizó una revisión bibliográfica de los datos ...
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La aplicacion masiva de estas nuevas tecnologias de ima-gen radiologica en los hospitales publicos espa˜noles haoriginado una gran base de datos, protegida legalmente.La utilidad como instrumento de investigacion de estasnuevas tecnicas... more
La aplicacion masiva de estas nuevas tecnologias de ima-gen radiologica en los hospitales publicos espa˜noles haoriginado una gran base de datos, protegida legalmente.La utilidad como instrumento de investigacion de estasnuevas tecnicas de imagen y de la base de datos gene-rada a partir de ellas queda demostrada por el trabajorealizado por diferentes investigadores en el analisis del
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OBJECTIVE To provide prevalence data for future comparative analysis of the health status of rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) accumulated in the archaeological record. MATERIALS Two contrasting assemblages were analysed for pathological... more
OBJECTIVE To provide prevalence data for future comparative analysis of the health status of rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) accumulated in the archaeological record. MATERIALS Two contrasting assemblages were analysed for pathological and sub-pathological changes: 1) an assemblage of domestic modern rabbit bones; and 2) a non-anthropogenic accumulation of archaeological rabbit remains. METHODS The lesions observed macroscopically, under magnification, and radiographically in both assemblages are quantified and described. RESULTS In the first assemblage, pathological and sub-pathological changes mostly affected the lower limb bones and primarily took two forms: diaphyseal periosteal proliferation and hypervascularised distal physes. Differential diagnosis of the periosteal proliferation suggests that pododermatitis is the most probable cause. In the second assemblage fractures were the most common lesions, but isolated examples of hypervascularised physes, periosteal proliferation, and musculo-skeletal stress markers were also identified. The pathological changes recorded is typical of a naturally-accumulated population of wild rabbits. CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of pathological and sub-pathological skeletal changes in the rabbits, and thus their health status, are closely related to living conditions. This study demonstrates the value of systematically recording pathologies in rabbit bones. SIGNIFICANCE We contribute new data to help understand rabbit interactions with humans in the past and also the environment they inhabited. LIMITATIONS Working with modern samples frequently means only incomplete skeletons are available for study. In these cases lesion prevalence always needs to be interpreted with caution. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH Paleopathological studies of rabbit remains are remarkable for their absence. Further exhaustive research in this area is advised.
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To evaluate the influence of bone loss on the three adult age markers of the innominate, 30 males and 30 females aged between 16 and 80 years coming from the British Coventry collection were analyzed. The pubic symphysis, auricular... more
To evaluate the influence of bone loss on the three adult age markers of the innominate, 30 males and 30 females aged between 16 and 80 years coming from the British Coventry collection were analyzed. The pubic symphysis, auricular surface, and acetabulum age variables were evaluated following the descriptions of Schmitt, Buckberry-Chamberlain, and Rissech, respectively. The second metacarpal cortical index was used to evaluate bone loss. Possible sexual differences in metrical variables were explored by a Student t-test taking into account the entire sample. The possible relationships between the cortical index and the three age methods' stages were assessed by the Kruskall-Wallis test and Spearman's correlation coefficient. There were no sexual differences in the cortical index. In general, we observed no significant differences between the cortical index in the different stages of the pubic symphysis, auricular surface, or acetabulum variables in men and women. Most corre...
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OBJECTIVE In 2006, an age estimation method was proposed utilizing Bayesian inference to interpret age-progressive changes in the acetabulum. This was accompanied by the IDADE2 software to facilitate calculations. However, the MS-DOS... more
OBJECTIVE In 2006, an age estimation method was proposed utilizing Bayesian inference to interpret age-progressive changes in the acetabulum. This was accompanied by the IDADE2 software to facilitate calculations. However, the MS-DOS operating system on which the software was based became obsolete. The main goal of this article is to present the new IDADE2, which incorporates web-based facilities. MATERIALS AND METHODS The original IDADE2 has been re-written in R and presented as a web page. As in the original, this web page uses Bayesian inference to estimate age of unidentified individuals. The materials used to create the reference datasets of this web page include acetabular scores from documented skeletal samples from Spain (n = 24♀ and 52♂), Portugal (n = 317♀ and 294♂), and the US (n = 370♀ and 456♂). RESULTS The IDADE2 website has eight sections. Six of these are informative to guide the user. The other two (Option 1 and Option 2) are dedicated to estimating age at death. Option 1 allows users to estimate the age of individual(s) in their test sample based on our reference data of acetabular scores. Option 2 allows users to estimate age from the acetabulum with their own reference and test collections or-if the users prefer-another age marker and method of choice. DISCUSSION The IDADE2 website is applicable both to forensic anthropological casework on single individuals and to bioarchaeological analyses of large skeletal samples. This website is easy to use and freely accessible, responding to previous critiques and incorporating method advancements.
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Aquest treball defineix nous parametres que poden ser utilitzats en Antropologia Forense i Paleoantropologia per estudiar i definir l'edat, la salut i les condicions de vida de poblacions de temps passats. En concret, les autores han... more
Aquest treball defineix nous parametres que poden ser utilitzats en Antropologia Forense i Paleoantropologia per estudiar i definir l'edat, la salut i les condicions de vida de poblacions de temps passats. En concret, les autores han definit, mitjancant formules matematiques, el creixement de la zona isqueopubica.