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This article presents an effective model for estimating the age of subjects without identification documents, in accordance with Italian legislation covering unaccompanied minors, using instrumental methods recognized by the scientific community for age estimation. A decision-making tree has been developed, in which the first step is a physical examination. If secondary sexual characteristics are fully developed and there are no obvious signs of abnormal growth, dental X-rays are the next step. If the roots of the seven left mandibular teeth between the central incisor and the second molar are completely developed, the focus then moves to the third molar. If the index of the third molar (I3M) value is less than 0.08, or if third molars are not assessable, the following step is to study the clavicle which, if fully formed, indicates that the subject is an adult with 99.9% probability; otherwise, the probability is 96%. In all other cases (where the I3M is over 0.08), the probability that the subject has reached 18 years is less than 60%. The research, carried out initially on x-rays of the wrist, teeth and clavicle, highlighted the uselessness of the x-ray of the wrist for determining the age of majority, because in our sample, all subjects with incomplete maturity of hand/wrist bones were under 16 years of age; thus, OPT was necessary anyway. What we propose is a practical, easily feasible, fast, economical, and extremely reliable method, which can be used on Caucasian populations and beyond for multiple forensic purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines a skeleton, kept at the Church of Santa Chiara in Urbino, Italy, which was traditionally thought to be that of the Duchess Eleonora Gonzaga della Rovere (1493-1550). Suspicions as to whether or not the remains might belong to another important personage of the Urbino Renaissance, Battista Sforza (1447-1472); External observation of the skull; Odontological examination of the mandible; Age estimates of the skeleton consistent with the age at death of della Rovere; Results which highlight the potential of forensic methods as a key to understanding the work of earlier painters.

In this study Cameriere’s normalized measurements (CNM) of a single mandibular tooth were evaluated for age estimation on a sample of ortopantomographies (OPTs) of 2223 Italian children aged between 4 and 15 years. Dental maturity was radiographically evaluated by CNM of the seven left permanent mandibular teeth (CNMi = Ai/Li, i = 1,…,7); in monoradicular teeth, the distance (Ai, i = 1,…,5) between the inner sides of the open apex was measured while in biradicular teeth (Ai, i = 6, 7), the sum of the distances between the inner sides of the two open apices was calculated. Ai was normalized by the tooth length (Li, i = 1,…,7). The intra- and inter-observer agreement of CNM measurements was almost perfect. Overall, analyzed mandibular teeth finished their development up to the age of 13, but the distribution of CNM varied among different locations. The final models included a tooth-specific CNM as the independent variable and explained from 76% (second molars) to 39% (first incisors) of the variance in chronological age. The bias and accuracy of these models, when applied to real-life data with no age limitation, were within acceptable range of differences in the forensic anthropology of children. Specifically, in all models mean of absolute differences between estimated and real age was within one year (0.67 for first incisors to 1.00 for canines). In conclusion this study showed that all mandibular teeth do not have equal applicability for age estimation suggesting that further evaluation on different samples is necessary to evaluate the usefulness of a single mandibular tooth for age estimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The copper Age necropolis of Forlì Celletta dei Passeri was discovered in 2009 and excavated under the direction of M. Miari between 2009 and 2010. More than 70 tombs were brought to light and several still wait to be excavated. The area extends over 5.000 square metres and all the burials are simply dug in the ground and mostly W-NW and S-SW oriented. The grave goods are represented by pottery, copper axes, copper daggers and flint artifacts. The record of taphonomical data allowed us to recognize the practice of manipulation and reopening of the graves and peculiar burial practices. The human sample is formed by 40 adults and 10 juveniles (18 males, 7 females and 15 undetermined among the adults) and a major problem in paleobiological study was represented by the fragmentation and incompleteness of the skeletal remains. Several regions couldn't even be taken into consideration (sternal ends of ribs, pubic symphyses, cranial sutures), while as it is well known, the degree of dental wear, especially in prehistoric times, is highly biased by attrition, contaminants in food, extra-alimentary use of teeth. Therefore the use of the Cameriere method represented a good solution to fill the gap in the data collected through traditional age determination diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Estimation of age at death is an unavoidable step in the process of human identification, both in forensic practice and in the anthropological and palaeopathological study of skeletal remains. In several cases, in which medical or demographic records are completely lacking, a reliable estimation of the age at death becomes very important. Skeletal remains from archaeological contexts suffer from several biasing factors such as post-mortem changes, taphonomy and various burial practices depending on age, sex and social status of the deceased persons. Currently, anthropological methods of age determination reveal several possibilities of inaccuracy. Of all the body parts used in age estimation, teeth are the least affected by any taphonomic process. Although there are many dental methods for age at death estimation, some of them are very complex and/or destructive and they are not normally used in anthropology. However, study of the apposition of secondary dentine by examining peri-apical X-rays of canines is beginning to supply very interesting results. The aim of this work was to test Cameriere’s method on a large sample of historical subjects from several cemeteries in Spain and Italy. The Spanish sample belongs to the Medieval cemetery of La Torrecilla (Arenas del Rey, Granada) and is housed in the Laboratory of Anthropology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada. The Italian samples come from the Medieval cemeteries of Comacchio (Ferrara) and Castel S. Pietro (Bologna). In order to test the reliability of Cameriere’s method, age estimations of canines were compared with the mean ranges of age of the most commonly applied anthropological methods such as tooth wear changes in the pubic symphysis or the metamorphosis of the auricular surface of the ilium. Tests on these Middle Ages cemeteries produced satisfactory results, indicating that Cameriere’s method is a reliable tool in determining age at death in skeletal remains of archaeological context. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The age at death estimation is one of the main components of the anthropological study and is the basis of demographic studies conducted on ancient peoples. However, the different methods commonly used in anthropology for adult age at death determination provide estimates of the age in the form of wide intervals. This happens regardless of the state of preservation of bones, even if in case of a poorly preserved skeletons we can only determine the individual as an adult. The consequence is the inability to develop demographic studies with a good degree of reliability. Several age estimation methods apply the various forms of tooth modification, including wear, root dentine transparency, tooth cementum annulation, racemization of aspartic acid, and apposition of secondary dentine. Wear and the apposition of secondary dentine are the currently available non-destructive methods. Tooth wear is influenced by various external factors (masticatory function, type of food, timing and sequence of tooth eruption, tooth form, position of teeth, thickness and hardness of enamel, and predisposition to enamel hypoplasia) while the apposition of secondary dentine (Cameriere's method) is a continuing, regular process, which is only modified by caries or particular abrasion. The purpose of this communication was to apply the Cameriere's method on an important sample of 16 adults Neolithic skeletons from three sites in southern Italy (Apulia): Serra Cicora, Masseria della Marina and Carpignano. The estimates derived from the study of the canines were compared with the age ranges obtained with the commonly used anthropological indicators: fusion of cranial sutures, degree of tooth wear, remodelling of the pubic symphysis and the auricular surface of the Ilium. The latter two provide intervals which encompass the ages estimated with Cameriere's method. The results show that we are facing a population with a high presence of persons of advanced age, even beyond the age of 50, hardly distinguishable by other methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2000 the Medieval Arcaheology teaching and the Physical Anthropology Laboratory of Venice University Ca' Foscari started a project on the medieval peopling of Italy (Veneto, Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany) that allowed the excavation and analysis of several cemeteries and human samples dating back to Late Antiquity-Early Medieval Age up to Renaissance. The sample is formed by more than 1200 subjects of both sexes and all age categories, coming from various archaeological contexts (urban sites, country villages, cities, monasteries) and each showing peculiar burial practices. Together with the traditional anthropological approach to paleobiological samples, we decided to test a new age determination method (following R. Cameriere suggestions and recommendations) on several of them (Castel S. Pietro-BO, Formigine-MO, Comacchio-FE). Given the problems that can often arise with samples coming form achaeological contexts (incompleteness, fragmentation, poor preservation of the remains) we found this method extremely helpful, considering also the fact that dental remains are often better preserved than others. In addition we have to stress that in traditional paleodemography, the age classes ranging from 45-50 years onwards remain mostly undiagnosed, being grouped into one single class and therefore the mortality pattern of adults is also highly biased. The analysis through traditional skeletal indicators was compared in each case with that offered by Cameriere method for a more precise and statistically useful age determination of the subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to validate the accuracy of five different formulas based on the Cameriere method for age estimation in Kenyan children. We analyzed panoramic radiographs of 350 Kenyan children (184 males and 166 females) aged between 6 and 13 years. The dental development of each child was estimated by the analysis of the first seven left permanent teeth in the left mandible. Dental age was calculated by the Italian, European, North German, Malaysian, and South African black formulas previously published in peer-review journals. The children's mean chronological age (CA) was 9.34 ± 2.02 years and 9.26 ± 2.01 years for males and females. In males, the South-African formula overestimated CA least, by 0.12 years, followed by the Italian formula by 0.22 years, the European formula by 0.37 years, the Malaysian formula by 0.48 years, and the North-German formula overestimated the most, by 0.57 years. In females, the South-African formula underestimated CA by - 0.12 years. The Italian overestimated by 0.12 years, followed by the North-German formula by 0.29 years, the European formula by 0.31 years, and the Malaysian formula by 0.40 years. The Italian formula provided the best accuracy in the absolute difference within ± 1 year, by 75.72% and 75%, following the North-German formula by 66.47% and 70.27% for males and females, respectively. Therefore, the findings suggest that the Italian formula best estimates dental age in Kenyan children., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Abstract: The identification of unknown individuals is of crucial importance to society, especially in the context of mass disasters involving individuals of different nationalities. The comparison of frontal sinus patterns is an important tool for personal identification. In Cameriere's method, a new personal code number (codC) containing 8 digits was elaborated, based on the measurements of frontal sinus patterns. The present study is an update of this previous work. Digital radiographic images of the skulls of 299 individuals of different nationalities (100 Italians, 99 Kosovars, and 100 Turks) were analyzed, adopting the same maximum-weight dependence tree used in the original work. For comparisons between groups, Fisher exact test and the χ2 test were carried out. The method, applied to different population groups, significantly increases the likelihood of identifying a person by comparison of antemortem and postmortem frontal sinus radiographs. Results demonstrated that the model is more discriminative in identifying individuals of different nationalities., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2020 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Cameriere's method has been tested in many populations and is widely accepted for dental age estimation. Aim: To establish a new formula for age estimation by measurement of open apices of mandibular teeth based on Cameriere's European formula. Subjects and methods: Panoramic radiographs of 333 healthy Serbian children aged 5-14 years were analysed by two independent researchers. The new formula - Belgrade Age Formula (BAF) - was created and tested on the same Serbian sample. Furthermore, BAF was tested on the Serbian validation sample of 126 children and 2115 Italian children aged 5-14 years. Results: In the Serbian sample, the residuals of the BAF and European formula demonstrated that BAF is significantly better in age estimation than the European formula. No significant difference was found in females from the Serbian validation sample between dental and chronological age when BAF was applied. For males, the BAF and European formula had similar accuracy. In the Italian sample, the mean differences between estimated and real age for the European formula were -0.214 ± 0.934 and 0.109 ± 0.773 for females and males, respectively, while for BAF these differences were 0.182 ± 0.951 and -0.195 ± 0.923 for females and males, respectively. Conclusion: BAF was found to be accurate in the Serbian and Italian populations.

The aim of this study was to compare the accuracy of three methods for age estimation in children: the measurements of open apices in tooth roots (T), the ratio between the total area of carpal bones and epiphyses of the ulna and radius (HW), and the combined method (THW). The sample consisted of 288 Caucasian Italian children (152 boys and 136 girls) aged between 5 and 15 years. Accuracy was determined as the difference between estimated age and chronological age, and accuracy was assessed by analyzing individuals' orthopantomograms and hand-wrist radiographs. Accuracies were 0.41 years for girls and 0.54 years for boys with the THW method; for the HW method, 1.00 years for girls and 0.92 years for boys; and for the T method, 0.62 years for girls and 0.71 years for boys. THW is the most accurate technique for age estimation in these children., (© 2012 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.)

This paper details a method for age determination of adults from single rooted teeth. The sample consisted of 100 Italian white Caucasian patients (46 men, 54 women) aged between 18 and 72 years. The single rooted maxillary right canine was utilized in this preliminary study. Pulp/root ration, tooth length, pulp/tooth length ratio, pulp/tooth area and pulp/root width ratios at three different levels were computed. Pearson's correlation coefficients between age and these variables showed that the ratio between pulp and tooth area correlated best with age (r2 = 0.85). Stepwise multiple regression models yielded a linear relationship between pulp/root width at mid-root level and chronological age and a linear relationship when pulp/tooth area was compared to age. Statistical analysis indicated that these two variables explain 84.9% of variations in estimated chronological age. The median of the absolute value of residual errors between actual and estimated ages was less than four years.