| Autor: |
Mavroudas SR; Department of Anthropology, Forensic Anthropology Center, Texas State University, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, TX 78666, USA., Meckel LA; Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, Health Sciences Center, Louisiana State University, 1901 Perdido Street, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA., Gocha TP; Department of Anthropology, Forensic Anthropology Center, Texas State University, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, TX 78666, USA., Goldstein JZ; Department of Anthropology, Forensic Anthropology Center, Texas State University, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, TX 78666, USA.; New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner, 520 1st Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA., Garza SL; Department of Anthropology, Forensic Anthropology Center, Texas State University, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, TX 78666, USA. |
| Abstrakt: |
Whole-body donations (n = 6) were placed in various experimental fire-death scenarios to understand the histological effects of thermal alteration on bones and teeth. Midshaft samples of the femur, 6th rib, and metatarsal were removed from each donor pre- and post-burning to examine histomorphometric differences and test established age-at-death estimation methods. Dental samples were taken post-burning to test the applicability of dental cementum analysis for age-at-death estimation. Significant differences in osteon area or Haversian canal area between some pre- and post-burn samples were found although no patterns related to temperature or element were observable. The femoral age estimates across pre- and post-burn samples were 91% accurate across all donors. The point age estimates from the ribs compared to known age were significantly different (t(10) = 6.88, p < 0.001) with an average difference of −18.53 years. Dental age estimates of post-burn samples were not significantly different from the known donor age (t(3) = −0.74, p = 0.512) with an average difference of −3.96 years. Overall, the results of this study show that thermally altered remains can be used for histologic age-at-death analysis of cortical bone and dental cementum, within certain burning parameters. |
