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The Applicability of the L amendin Method to Skeletal Remains Buried for a 16‐Year Period: A Cautionary Note
Author(s) -
De Angelis Danilo,
Mele Elia,
Gibelli Daniele,
Merelli Vera,
Spagnoli Laura,
Cattaneo Cristina
Publication year - 2015
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 - 10.1111/1556-4029.12611
Subject(s) - period (music) , forensic engineering , engineering , physics , acoustics
The L amendin method is widely reported as one of the most reliable means of age estimation of skeletal remains, but very little is known concerning the influence of burial in soil. This study aimed at verifying the reliability of the L amendin method on corpses buried for 16 years in a cemetery. The L amendin and the P rince and U belaker methods were applied. In all age groups except the 40‐ to 49‐year–olds, the error was higher in the buried sample. The age‐at‐death error ranged between 10.7 and 36.8 years for the L amendin method (vs. the reported 7.3–18.9 years) and 9.5 and 35.7 for the P rince and U belaker one (vs. the original 5.2–32.6 years); in all age groups, the error is closer to that found on archeological populations. These results suggest caution in applying the L amendin method to forensic cases of human remains buried even for a brief period under soil.