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A Comparative Assessment of the Chen et al. and Suchey‐Brooks Pubic Aging Methods on a North American Sample , ,
Author(s) -
Fleischman Julie M.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of forensic sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.715
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1556-4029
pISSN - 0022-1198
DOI - 10.1111/1556-4029.12061
Subject(s) - forensic anthropology , subjectivity , biological anthropology , mean absolute error , demography , statistics , anthropology , mathematics , sociology , mean squared error , philosophy , epistemology
Accurately estimating the age‐at‐death of adult human skeletons is fundamental in forensic anthropology. This study evaluates the accuracy of two pubic bone age estimation methods— C hen et al. and S uchey‐ B rooks. Specimens were obtained from a known collection of modern pubic bones curated at the M aricopa C ounty F orensic S cience C enter in P hoenix, A rizona. A sample of 296 left male pubic bones of E uropean ancestry was statistically evaluated via bias, absolute mean error, and intra‐ and inter‐observer error. Results indicate that the two methods are similar; the S uchey‐ B rooks method is the most accurate for aging young adults (error c . 7 years), while the Revised C hen et al. method is most accurate for aging middle‐age adults (error c . 6 years). Thus, the C hen et al. method is an important contribution to forensic anthropology for aging older adult skeletal remains. There are, however, some limitations such as subjectivity and the intricate scoring system of C hen et al. method.