ABSTRACT

This Chapter discusses methods for assessing age in deceased individuals in different stages of preservation. In a medicolegal setting, the remains of a deceased individual may range from a small amount of material, e.g. a single tooth, to a well-preserved unidentified body. Hence, several methods covering this spectrum exist. Even though an age assessment is somewhat more reliable in sub-adults than adults, an assessment of age cannot be obtained with high accuracy and should be given as a range. In this chapter, a large range of methods for age estimation in the deceased will be described including observational and destructive procedures as well as imaging modalities. Moreover, newer methods such as DNA methylation will be mentioned.