Search

The Bang and Ramm method uses root dentine translucency (RDT) length in sectioned or unsectioned teeth as a sole indicator of chronological age at death in adult human remains. The formulae have been tested on modern remains of known age and on modern and archaeological remains of unknown age. This is the first published study of the method on known-age archaeological specimens and tests whether RDT is a good indicator of chronological age in buried human remains. We applied the Bang and Ramm equations to two 18th and 19th century assemblages excavated from the crypt of Christ Church, Spitalfields, and the cemetery of All Hallows by the Tower. Translucency was defined by shining a light through the external unsectioned root surface and was measured from digital images of 583 and 83 nonmolar roots from 126 Spitalfields and 12 All Hallows individuals, respectively, aged 21-81 years. Average absolute difference between real age and estimated age was 10.7 years and 8.4 years for Spitalfields and All Hallows individuals, respectively, with 58% and 75% estimated within 10 years of known age, and 29% and 33% estimated within five years of known age. These estimations are comparable to results from other ageing methods applied to the Spitalfields collection. Ages from both populations were estimated largely to the middle ranges, with younger individuals overestimated and older individuals underestimated. This is a common occurrence when using inverse calibration, where age is treated as the dependent variable and the ageing feature as the independent variable., (© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Objectives: Biomechanical forces, such as those produced during mastication, are considered a primary agent in stimulating craniofacial growth and development. There appears to be a strong connection between the strength of the masticatory muscles and the dimensions of the craniofacial complex, with changes in biomechanical force and muscular strength influencing and altering the underlying bony tissues. This is markedly apparent in the mandible and it is possible to infer that changes to mandibular form are due in part to dietary changes. This study aims to investigate this idea by using an archaeological sample from a period that experienced important dietary changes as a result of the Industrial Revolution., Design: 279 skeletons from the mediaeval and post-mediaeval periods in London were selected for analysis, and a detailed metric examination of each mandible was carried out., Results: Males and females were analysed separately and statistically significant reductions were observed in nearly all post-mediaeval measurements. This effect was most pronounced in the areas of the mandible associated with masticatory muscles attachment, including the gonial angle, ramus height and width, bi-gonial breadth and bi-condylar breadth., Conclusions: These recorded changes in mandibular morphology of mediaeval and post-mediaeval Londoners are most likely the result of a shift in diet (and associated decrease in masticatory function) observed in the period surrounding the Industrial Revolution., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Dental tissues contain regular microscopic structures believed to result from periodic variations in the secretion of matrix by enamel- and dentine-forming cells. Counts of these structures are an important tool for reconstructing the chronology of dental development in both modern and fossil hominids. Most studies rely on the periodicity of the regular cross-banding that occurs along the long axis of enamel prisms. These prism cross-striations are widely thought to reflect a circadian rhythm of enamel matrix secretion and are generally regarded as representing daily increments of tissue. Previously, some researchers have argued against the circadian periodicity of these structures and questioned their use in reconstructing dental development. Here we tested the periodicity of enamel cross-striations--and the accuracy to which they can be used--in the developing permanent dentition of five children, excavated from a 19th century crypt in London, whose age-at-death was independently known. The interruption of crown formation by death was used to calibrate cross-striation counts. All five individuals produced counts that were strongly consistent with those expected from the independently known ages, taking into account the position of the neonatal line and factors of preservation. These results confirm that cross-striations do indeed reflect a circadian rhythm in enamel matrix secretion. They further validate their use in reconstructing dental development and in determining the age-at-death of the remains of children whose dentitions are still forming at the time of death. Significantly they identify the most likely source of error and the common difficulties encountered in histological studies of this kind.