Estimación de la edad en individuos infantilesValidación de los métodos de Weaver y Humphrey en una población mediterránea identificada

Abstract

There are many methods for determining age in sub-adults, one of which is the study of the temporal bone, whose developmental stages have been exposed in different works. A validation of the phases proposed by Weaver in 1979 and by Humphrey in - 48 - 2006 will be carried out to estimate age from the analysis of the development of the tympanic ring, with an identified Mediterranean population. The study sample consists of 139 individuals, with ages ranging from 5 months of gestation to 6 years, and which are part of the osteological collection of sub-adults of the Laboratory of Physical Anthropology of the University of Granada (Spain). This is a current sample (20th century), whose state of conservation is quite good, and whose individuals have extensive previous documentation that provides us with a reliable biological profile. The format in which the results offered by Weaver and Humphrey are presented does not allow for comparison of the actual age with the estimated age of the individuals, so the developmental stages have been collated. This has been done by means of non-parametric tests of the observed phases of development of the tympanic ring in the Granada sample, with the development phases estimated from the age of the individual according to the studies of both authors. In both cases, statistically significant differences were obtained, with Weaver tending to underestimate age while Humphrey overestimated it. These studies do not provide sufficient reliability to be used as methods for estimating age. The methodology needs to be updated to improve its applicability and reliability.