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Thesis
Social Race, Socoieconomic Status, And Subadult Age Estimation In A Contemporary Forensic Sample From New Mexico, U.S.
University of West Florida Libraries
Master of Arts (MA), University of West Florida
2024
Abstract
Subadult age-estimation methods in forensic anthropology are vital to confirm the identities of any unknown decedent who has not yet entered adulthood. These methods must be precise and accurate to provide a positive identification. Many forensic anthropologists use population-specific methods to estimate subadult age and discount pooled-population methods. The current research aimed to investigate the precision and accuracy of pooled-population and population-specific models to estimate subadult age, using a Computed Tomography (CT)-based sample from New Mexico. This thesis used diaphyseal dimensions (long bone length), midshaft breadths (the thickness of long bones at the midpoint), and dental development of the first and second molars to create MARS models. MARS (Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines) models create multiple linear basis functions with varying estimation intervals to provide an age range estimate for subadults from a given variable. Further, this research investigated whether socioeconomic status impacted the accuracy of subadult age estimations by estimating the age of subadults with family-reported SES information and examining their accurate or inaccurate estimation. This thesis found that while population-specific models yielded more precise age ranges, pooled-population methods yielded adequate precision and better accuracy in estimating age from a given variable. This argues for the utility and broad applicability of pooled-population aging methods in subadult cases where forensic anthropologists are unable or unwilling to estimate population affinity. The results demonstrated no discernible effects of SES, suggesting that skeletally and dentally embodied experiences of relative poverty or privilege for New Mexico subadults are not sufficiently impactful to affect age-estimation methods.
Details
- Title
- Social Race, Socoieconomic Status, And Subadult Age Estimation In A Contemporary Forensic Sample From New Mexico, U.S.
- Resource Type
- Thesis
- Contributors
- Allysha P Winburn (Advisor)Meredith Marten (Committee Member)Katherine Miller Wolf (Committee Member)
- Publisher
- University of West Florida Libraries; Argo Scholar Commons
- Format
- pdf
- Number of pages
- 150
- Copyright
- Unpublished work © Gonzalez, Samantha Marie
- Identifiers
- 99380599142206600
- Academic Unit
- Anthropology
- Language
- English
- Awarding Institution
- University of West Florida; Master of Arts (MA)
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Arts (MA), University of West Florida