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Interobserver error in macroscopic methods of estimating age at death from the human skeleton

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International Journal of Anthropology

Abstract

This research evaluates the interobserver error when the macroscopic methods recommended by American and European anthropologists to estimate age at death of a skeleton, were applied to a sample of the Terry Collection (Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.). Although no statistical differences among observers were found for any of these methods, small dissimilarities suggest that techniques using a narrower scale of categories produce greater agreement among researchers. The present study is within a wider research project designed to evaluate the accuracy of these methods, when applied to an identified (age known) sample of 963 skeleton from the Terry Collection.

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Galera, V., Ubelaker, D.H. & Hayek, L.C. Interobserver error in macroscopic methods of estimating age at death from the human skeleton. Int. J. Anthropol. 10, 229–239 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02447881

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02447881

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