Falys Ceri G, Schutkowski Holger, Weston Darlene A
Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Reading RG1 5NR, UK.
Am J Phys Anthropol. 2006 Aug;130(4):508-13. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.20382.
This study presents results and recommendations arising from a blind test of the revised age estimation method for the auricular surface as proposed by Buckberry and Chamberlain ([2002] Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 119:321-329). Auricular surfaces of 167 individuals from St. Bride's, London, a documented skeletal assemblage spanning the late 17th to early 19th century, were analyzed for the following traits: transverse organization, surface texture appearance, macroporosity, microporosity, and morphological changes to the apex. Composite scores of trait expressions were found to generally correlate with age and to show a positive association with known chronological age (P < 0.01). However, when composite scores were combined to define auricular surface phases, which ultimately assign age estimations, only three distinct developmental stages, compared with seven suggested by Buckberry and Chamberlain ([2002] Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 119:321-329), could be identified and statistically supported, all showing a considerable degree of individual variation in age. The most well-defined stage in the St. Bride's assemblage was the new stage III, where the majority of individuals were older than 60 years, whereas middle-aged adults displayed a large variation in composite scores. These results provide little hope for a promising application of age-at-death estimation of auricular surface morphology traits with higher resolution, but rather suggest indications of broad stages of life.
本研究展示了对Buckberry和Chamberlain（[2002]《美国体质人类学杂志》119:321 - 329）提出的耳部表面年龄估计方法修订版进行盲测所产生的结果和建议。对来自伦敦圣布里德的167名个体的耳部表面进行了分析，这些个体构成了一个有记录的骨骼组合，时间跨度从17世纪末到19世纪初，分析的特征包括：横向组织、表面纹理外观、大孔隙率、微孔隙率以及顶端的形态变化。发现特征表达的综合得分总体上与年龄相关，并且与已知的年代年龄呈正相关（P < 0.01）。然而，当将综合得分组合以定义耳部表面阶段（最终用于年龄估计）时，与Buckberry和Chamberlain（[2002]《美国体质人类学杂志》119:321 - 329）建议的七个阶段相比，只能识别出并得到统计学支持的三个不同发育阶段，所有阶段在年龄上都显示出相当程度的个体差异。圣布里德组合中定义最明确的阶段是新的第三阶段，其中大多数个体年龄超过60岁，而中年成年人的综合得分变化很大。这些结果对于更精确地应用耳部表面形态特征进行死亡年龄估计几乎没有希望，反而表明了生命的大致阶段。
