ABSTRACT
Forensic anthropologists employ a number of methods to estimate age at death from skeletal remains. These methods are based on skeletal morphology related to growth and developmental changes or to the aging process and degenerative changes. Variables include fusion of skeletal epiphyses, dental mineralization and eruption timing, fusion and obliteration of cranial sutures, subchondral bone destruction at joint surfaces, and pathological changes related to aging (e.g., osteoarthritis, enamel wear, and declining bone density). The resulting age estimate is an expression of skeletal age at death, which is at best a rough approximation of chronological age at death.
