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Objectives Sex and age trends in bone mineral density (BMD) play an important role in the estimation of age-at-death (AAD) of unidentified human remains. Current methodologies lack the ability to precisely estimate age in older individuals. In this study, BMD of the cranium and femur measured by DXA were examined to establish their applicability for age estimation in older adults. BMD as measured by DXA, is most commonly used clinically for prediction of osteoporotic fracture risk. We hypothesized that weight-bearing and non-weight-bearing bones, the femur and cranium, respectively, would provide valuable insights for aging. Methods The sample consists of 32 sets of excised cranial fragments from the Regional Forensic Center, Johnson City, Tennessee and 41 associated crania and femora from the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. All crania and femora were scanned using a Hologic (R) DXA scanner and data were analyzed using Student t -tests, Loess regression, and ANOVA. Results Student t -tests indicate a significant relationship between the sexes and cranial BMD and a significant relationship between age cohorts and femoral neck BMD. The Loess regression showed different aging patterns in the cranium for females and males older than 55. And the ANOVA showed changes in femoral neck after age 55. Conclusions These results indicate age and sex dependent changes in BMD especially for individuals over the age of 55, which offers improvement from current aging methods for older individuals. Further research using a larger sample size could improve the predictive capabilities of the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The research objective was to examine if secular trends can be identified for cranial data commissioned by Boas in 1892, specifically for cranial breadth and cranial length of the Eastern and Western band Cherokee who experienced environmental hardships. Materials and methods: Multiple regression analysis was used to test the degree of relationship between each of the cranial measures: cranial length, cranial breadth and cephalic index, along with predictor variables (year-of-birth, location, sex, admixture); the model revealed a significant difference for all craniometric variables. Additional regression analysis was performed with smoothing Loess plots to observe cranial length and cranial breadth change over time (year-of-birth) separately for Eastern and Western Cherokee band females and males born between 1783-1874. Results: This revealed the Western and Eastern bands show a decrease in cranial length over time. Eastern band individuals maintain a relatively constant head breadth, while Western Band individuals show a sharp decline beginning around 1860. Conclusions: These findings support negative secular trend occurring for both Cherokee bands where the environment made a detrimental impact; this is especially marked with the Western Cherokee band. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous studies have used the Howells Peruvian sample from the province of Yauyos as the morphological representative for South America. Although Peru has a rich history of investigations of human skeletal remains, biological distance studies based on craniometrics are limited to nonexistent. This study examines the morphological variation found in Peru using the Howells sample and three additional coastal (Makatampu and Ancón) and highland (Cajamarca) samples. The between-group variation and the degree of among-group differentiation were tested using a canonical discriminant analysis and Mahalanobis D², respectively. All groups are significantly different from the Yauyos sample and results indicate a closer morphological affinity between coastal groups and the two highland groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biological variation is investigated among contemporary Croatians, Bosnians, American whites, and other multitemporal Balkan populations (World War II Croatians, Macedonians, and Greeks) via multivariate statistics and distance measures of the craniofacial complex. This study demonstrates that there is considerable variation among groups of European ancestry. Bosnians and Croatians who are thought to be relatively homogenous and historically to originate from the same Slav ancestry show local variations. While environmental plasticity has been used to explain cranial changes among human groups, it does not adequately explain the variation observed between Bosnians and Croatians. It is an oversimplification to exclusively attribute the vast range of variability observed among local as well as geographic populations to environmental adaptations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a pilot study of the among-sample morphological variation of modern 19th Cubans, Precontact Cubans, 17th Century Spanish and Terry Blacks using landmarks-based Procrustes analysis from geometric morphometrics. Biological variation of Cuban Americans which will facilitate the development of identification criteria specific for the U.S. hybrid Hispanic community; Conclusion that the application of available traditional craniometric and non-metric methods are not appropriate for the Latin population in South Florida.

Craniofacial variation is investigated in Latin America and the Caribbean. The samples included in this study are two historic and one prehistoric sample from Ecuador; prehistoric and modern Cuban samples; a prehistoric Peruvian sample; two prehistoric Mexican samples and one contemporary admixed Mexican sample; a 16th/17th-century Spanish sample; and Terry blacks. Biological distance is investigated using traditional craniometrics by computing size and shape variables according to Mosimann and colleagues. This study shows that there is much biological variation within the Americas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]