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Abstract: Anthropometrists attempt to minimise measurement errors, however, errors cannot be eliminated entirely. Currently, measurement errors are simply reported. Measurement errors should be included into analyses of anthropometric data. This study proposes a method which incorporates measurement errors into reported values, replacing metric units with 'units of technical error of measurement (TEM)' by applying these to forensics, industrial anthropometry and biological variation. The USA armed forces anthropometric survey (ANSUR) contains 132 anthropometric dimensions of 3982 individuals. Concepts of duplication and Euclidean distance calculations were applied to the forensic-style identification of individuals in this survey. The National Size and Shape Survey of Australia contains 65 anthropometric measurements of 1265 women. This sample was used to show how a woman's body measurements expressed in TEM could be 'matched' to standard clothing sizes. Euclidean distances show that two sets of repeated anthropometric measurements of the same person cannot be matched (> 0) on measurements expressed in millimetres but can in units of TEM (= 0). Only 81 women can fit into any standard clothing size when matched using centimetres, with units of TEM, 1944 women fit. The proposed method can be applied to all fields that use anthropometry. Units of TEM are considered a more reliable unit of measurement for comparisons.

The use and distribution of child pornography is an increasing problem. Forensic anthropologists are often asked to estimate a child's age from a photograph. Previous studies have attempted to estimate the age of children from photographs using ratios of the face. Here, we propose to include body measurement ratios into age estimates. A total of 1603 boys and 1833 girls aged 5-16 years were measured over a 10-year period. They are 'Cape Coloured' children from South Africa. Their age was regressed on ratios derived from anthropometric measurements of the head as well as the body. Multiple regression equations including four ratios for each sex (head height to shoulder and hip width, knee width, leg length and trunk length) have a standard error of 1.6-1.7 years. The error is of the same order as variation of differences between biological and chronological ages of the children. Thus, the error cannot be minimised any further as it is a direct reflection of a naturally occurring phenomenon.

As early as the nineteenth century, measurements of the face and body were used for forensic identification. It was believed that no two individuals had the exact same measurements. However, this was overtaken by fingerprint analysis because it was considered more reliable in court proceedings as the probabilities of finding matching individuals could be calculated. With the standardisation of photographs, identification primarily occurs from the face. With the ability to take measurements from photographs, why not use the body? The Army Anthropometry Survey (ANSUR) database contains anthropometric measurements of 3982 individuals. Eight facial and eight body measurements were compared to investigate whether or not there is enough information on the body to use for identification. Measurements were compared by adding one measurement to the other(s) in a stepwise approach until there were no duplicate cases where two or more individuals share the same combination of measurements. Results consistently show that less body measurements are needed to find no duplicates when compared to the face. The larger the range of each of the measurements, the less chance there is of finding a duplicate. With the combination of eight body measurements, it is possible to achieve a probability of finding a duplicate to the order of 10(-20) or 1 in a quintillion. These results are comparable with fingerprint analysis. The body is more variable than the face and should be used in identification. An advantage to using the body is that larger dimensions are easier to locate on images and not affected by facial expression.

Summary: There are a number of methods of physical anthropology available to reconstruct living stature from skeletal remains. Some methods use dimensions of just a few bones, together with regression equations (mathematical, see Table 1: 1-7), while other methods require the whole skeleton and simply add the heights of specific skeletal components (anatomical, see Table 1: 8-11). This study investigates the consistency that mathematical and anatomical methods can provide in the determination of stature from skeletal remains. A significant difference was found between average heights of the same 20 individuals determined from seven mathematical and four anatomical methods (paired t-test, p < 0.001, df = 19). Mathematical methods provided taller height estimates than anatomical methods; the average difference was 47 mm. A repeated measures ANOVA indicated significant differences in the heights determined by all methods (p < 0.0001). Analysis of variance indicated significant differences in the heights determined by various mathematical methods (p < 0.03), whereas there were no significant differences in the heights amongst various anatomical methods (p < 0.77). When simple proportions of the length of the long bones to stature are used for reconstruction (see Table 1: 12), a bias is shown by mathematical methods to overestimate statures of short individuals and underestimate statures of taller individuals. To reduce this bias of linear regressions, we suggest that alternate methods, such as reduced major axis or organic correlation, should be employed (see Table 1: 13-15).

Person identification from images is an important task in many security applications and forensic investigations. The essence of the problem comes down to measuring key observable anatomical features which can help describing similarities or differences between two or more individuals. In this paper, we examine how different types of garments affect the placement of body markers that enable precise anatomical human description. We focus in particular on landmark positioning errors on the upper limb. Closed-form formulae are provided to compute the maximum likelihood estimate of upper limb length from an image. Subject stature is then predicted from the limb length through a regression model and used as identification criterion. Following initial laboratory experiments, the technique is demonstrated to be invariant to posture and applicable to uninformed subjects in unconstrained environments. Seven technical errors of measurement and statistical tests are quantified empirically from statures obtained by three assessors. Results show that thicker garments produce higher inaccuracies in landmark localisation but errors decrease as placement is repeated, as expected. Overall, comparison to truth reveals that on average statures are predicted with accuracy in excess of 96% for the worst assessor., (Crown Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

It has been suggested that inter-canine width plus 57% of the cumulative distance between the lateral aspect of the canines and the pupil centers can be used to estimate mouth width. Evidence also suggests that the distance between the medial irises approximates actual mouth width fairly well. However, these soft tissue prediction guidelines are limited because they rely on accurate medio-lateral positioning of the pupils within the orbits, for which no systematic empirical evidence appears to exist at this stage. It would, therefore, be more appropriate to use only known hard tissue landmarks in mouth width prediction. This study reports the results of using inter-canine width as a percentage of mouth width for its prediction. This method seems favorable in comparison to the other guidelines because it is as accurate, uses known hard tissue landmarks, and does not rely on assumptions concerning pupil location. Estimating mouth width by using the canines alone, therefore, seems the best guideline to use in facial approximation techniques, at least given knowledge existing at this stage.

The average thickness of soft tissues on parts of the face is known, but its variation has not been related to cranial morphology. To investigate this relationship, measurements of facial soft-tissue depths and craniometric dimensions were taken on adult, white Australian cadavers (17 male and 23 female). Significant correlations between many soft-tissue depths and craniometric dimensions were found, suggesting a relationship between the amount of soft tissue present on the face and the size of the underlying bony skeleton. Soft-tissue depths were highly positively correlated with each other; craniometric dimensions were correlated but to a lesser extent. Males had thicker soft tissues and larger craniometric dimensions than females; considerable overlap of ranges was also noted. Multiple regression analysis was used to produce equations predicting the soft-tissue depth at specified areas of the face from craniometric dimensions. A subsample of nine cadavers was examined for the effects of tissue embalming. Embalming caused significant initial increases in facial soft-tissue depths. Cadavers embalmed for less than 6 months had soft-tissue depths significantly greater than for fully embalmed cadavers. The evidence that facial soft-tissue thicknesses vary with craniofacial dimensions has implications for forensic identification, facial aesthetic surgery, and approximation of the facial features of extinct individuals., (Copyright 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.)

Growth of children and physical status of adults in two Aboriginal communities, Gerard and Raukkan, South Australia, were assessed. Height, weight, biepicondylar breadth of humerus, the triceps and subscapular skinfolds, and arm circumferences were measured on 110 children and 77 adults annually between 1996 and 2000. Data were transformed to z scores, using American reference data. In all groups height z scores are negative. In all but Raukkan boys, the z scores are significantly smaller than the reference. Body weight z scores lie above the reference, with the only exceptions being Gerard children. Still, in all cases BMI lies above the reference, being significantly greater than the reference, except in Gerard girls. z scores for the triceps skinfold are not consistently positive, but those for the subscapular skinfold are positive in all groups, indicating centralized fat accumulation. In both boys and girls, Raukkan men and Gerard women, biepicondylar breadth of the humerus is below the reference. Increased BMI and trunk fatness suggest that members of these communities are not only receiving adequate nutrition, but that in many cases there is also a caloric surplus, sometimes leading to obesity. Inadequate skeletal growth indicated by short stature and small biepicondylar breadths, on the other hand, suggests that the environment is less than optimal for growth. Factors such as disease load, psychosocial pressures, or specific nutrient shortages may be involved.

Objective: To ascertain whether individuals whose short stature is caused by poor living conditions differ in their other biological characteristics from those individuals who grow short, supposedly due to their genetic endowment, under favourable environmental conditions., Design: From the growth survey of nearly 4000 children of the 'Cape Coloured' community aged 6-18 y half of whom lived in the middle-class suburbs of Cape Town [high socio-economic status (SES)], the other half who lived in poor rural settlements (low SES), boys and girls of similarly short stature were selected. Average body height by sex and age in each selected sample was close to the 5th percentile of height distribution among all high SES individuals surveyed., Setting: Cape Town and neighbouring rural settlements in South Africa., Subjects: Four thousand children of the Cape Coloured community aged 6-18 y. Among these were 109 high SES boys, 123 high SES girls, 302 low SES boys and 344 low SES girls selected for short stature study., Interventions: Anthropometric measurements in public schools with appropriate permissions., Results: Both short stature males and females from the low SES group tended to be significantly (P < 0.05) different from the high SES group of comparable stature in having lower body weights, shorter limbs, longer trunks, narrower shoulders, hips and chests, thinner skinfolds, smaller arm circumferences, and were very notably weaker and had poorer neuromuscular reaction times. Biepicondylar widths and pulse rates were little different between groups. Genetically short children do differ in various anthropometric and functional traits from those who are small from environmental causes.

Looks at a study which investigated the millennial and secular changes in body height, of Aboriginal South Australians. Excavation of the skeletal remains of several female individuals; Reconstruction of the stature; Methodology used to conduct the study; Results of the study.