ABSTRACT
In the United States, the first methods for estimating the biological profile of unknown individuals in a forensic context were developed in the 19th century by Thomas Dwight Dr. Dwight, a Harvard anatomist, used inverse regression1 to estimate stature, sex, and age from skeletal remains. Statistical methodology for biological profiling has been largely based on descriptive and univariate statistical methods, such as regression, discriminant function analysis, and principal components analysis. In addition to univariate statistics, the concept of descriptive methodology appropriately characterizes much of the research in forensic anthropology. In the mid-1980s, Richard Jantz, from the University of Tennessee, created the Forensic Data Bank using traditional techniques of size and shape analysis based on linear measurements to assemble skeletal data for improving identification methods. As forensic anthropology becomes more global, one should exercise caution when applying current aging methods to diverse populations.
