Determination of adult age at death in the forensic context

Abstract

Age-at-death assessment faces biological and methodological problems. Age-related processes show great variation, both within and between populations. However, in forensic contexts, this parameter is crucial for identification, and both accuracy and reliability are required. Rather than proposing a list of various methods, the aim of this chapter is to suggest the most appropriate methods according to the indicators available for each case. The advantages and limits of the techniques presented are discussed. When most appropriate indicators are not available, the authors recommend avoiding age-atdeath estimation. © 2006 Humana Press Inc.