Don't throw the baby teeth out with the bathwater: Estimating subadult age using tooth wear in commingled archaeological assemblages
This study demonstrates that it is possible to estimate the age of developmentally ‐ambiguous deciduous and permanent molars with reference to an adequate sample of subadult dentition with estimated ages from the same population. This new method is valuable as it extracts information from developmentally‐ambiguous teeth that would otherwise be inaccessible, allows for rapid da ta collection, employs standard macroscopic dental scoring methods, and can be used for sites from other regions and periods. We conclude by discussing the applications of this new method within bioarchaeology and identify directions for future research on subadult dental wear.
Source: International Journal of Osteoarchaeology - Category: Science Authors: J. Beck,
B.H. Smith Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research