Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 132 views

    Stature Estimation: 1.0 Principle, Spirit and Intent

    Uploaded by

    Isolda Alanna Rl

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Stature Estimation: 1.0 Principle, Spirit and Intent

    Uploaded by

    Isolda Alanna Rl
    132 views4 pages

    Original Title

    swganth_stature_estimation.pdf

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    132 views4 pages

    Stature Estimation: 1.0 Principle, Spirit and Intent

    Uploaded by

    Isolda Alanna Rl

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 4

    Scientific Working Group for Forensic Anthropology (SWGANTH)

    Stature Estimation
    Issue date: 08/02/2012
    Revision: 1

    Stature Estimation

    1.0 Principle, Spirit and Intent

    Stature estimation is one of several biological parameters that may be usefully compared with
    antemortem records to include or exclude possible identifications of missing persons. Stature
    estimation is made possible by the relationship of skeletal dimensions with living height. Skeletal
    remains will be analyzed in a reliable and systematic manner for the purpose of estimating
    stature using appropriate techniques and the stature estimation process documented.

    2.0 Purpose and Scope

    These guidelines outline recommended approaches for estimating adult stature from skeletal
    elements or mostly skeletonized remains. Practitioners of forensic anthropology should
    implement these guidelines to the extent applicable, practical and appropriate. In the absence of
    specific guidelines or in the case of conflicting procedures, the principle, spirit and intent should
    be met.

    3 .0 General Principles

    Stature is usually estimated from the skeleton in one of two ways: 1) measuring all bones
    constituting the components of stature, summing those measurements and correcting for the
    missing soft tissue, or 2) employing a regression formula with the measurement of a complete
    bone. Other methods include employing incomplete limb bones, non-limb bones and alternative
    statistical methods. In selecting the method to be used, consideration of the individual’s
    population, sex and temporal cohort is warranted. Additionally, the method chosen is dependent
    on the presence and condition of the skeletal remains. Alternate statistical approaches (e.g.,
    maximum likelihood estimation) exist to estimate stature. Appreciation of the statistical
    foundations of these approaches provides an understanding of the advantages and limitations to
    the various methods. Forensic anthropologists should be cognizant that living stature (i.e.,
    missing person’s recorded height) may be derived from various sources including self-reported
    stature, family remembrance, or direct measurement.

    4.0 Best Practices

    If complete remains are present, either the anatomical or regression methods should be used. The
    measurement guidelines for the chosen technique should be followed. When complete skeletons
    Page 1 of 4
    or whole limb bones are not available or external factors require altering best practices, other
    means of estimating stature may be employed including the use of fragmentary limb bones and
    non-limb bones. The precision and accuracy of these alternative methods may be less than those
    approaches presented in the previous section. Additional adjustments to all methods should also
    be considered where appropriate.

    4.1 Anatomical Method (Also known as Complete Skeleton Method)

    The anatomical method should provide the most accurate estimate of an individual’s living
    height. Use of the anatomical method is acceptable when skeletal elements constituting stature
    are available and minimally damaged. Its use is recommended when the ancestry and sex of the
    individual cannot be estimated, there are an anomalous number of vertebrae or the individual’s
    limb bones appear to be atypical in length.

    4.2 Complete Limb Bones (Also known as the Mathematical Method or Regression
    Approach)

    This approach requires measuring a limb bone length or bone lengths, selecting the most
    appropriate regression formula by sex and ancestry, inserting the measurement into the formula,
    and calculating the estimated stature.

    Instruments and measurements appropriate for the method are employed. For most standards, the
    limb bone measurements are usually maximum lengths. In addition to formulae for individual
    limb bones, there are also regression formulae for multiple bones. In stature estimation using
    multiple bones, lengths of two or more bones are added and that sum employed in the formula.
    A variety of formulae are available by sex for a number of populations. For accurate stature
    estimation, formulae from the most similar population, the same sex and temporal cohort should
    be selected. In addition, the type of stature (e.g., self-reported vs. direct measurement) to be
    estimated should be considered for identification comparisons.

    After controlling for sex, ancestry and temporal cohort, the best formula is the one with the
    smallest prediction interval. The formula with the smallest standard error usually employs an
    element of the lower limb or combined elements including the lower limb bones. Whatever the
    element or elements—lower limb bones or not—the formula with the smallest prediction interval
    should be the most accurate and precise, and should be employed in the stature estimation.

    A prediction interval should be reported with the estimated stature. To accommodate the range of
    variation, the 90 percent or 95 percent prediction intervals are generally employed.

    4.3 Fragmentary Limb Bones

    Fragmentary limb bones may be used in regression formulae to estimate stature. Some of these
    methods require estimating bone length and then estimating stature based on the estimated bone
    length, thus compounding the error present in the estimation. Other techniques employing

    Page 2 of 4
    fragmentary remains estimate stature directly from the fragment, without requiring the second
    step of the previous method.

    4.4 Non-Limb Bones

    Non-limb bones (e.g., skulls, innominates, and bones of the hands or feet) may also be used to
    estimate stature, and in combinations with limb bones may be as accurate as other approaches.

    4.5 Considerations and Adjustments

    In addition to the variation inherent in the above methods, various other factors and adjustments
    should be considered when estimating stature, including:

    Stature decreases with advancing adult age. The anatomical method will provide the most
    accurate estimate of true height at the time of death. Regression methods estimate a maximum
    living height and may not include stature reduction associated with advancing adult age. If
    regression methods are reported then it should be with the understanding that they may provide
    an overestimation of the actual height at death. While age correction methods exist to account
    for stature loss with age, their application is problematic.

    Some stature estimation techniques are based on samples using cadaver length, not living stature.
    Depending on the manner the cadaver was measured and adjustments in the techniques to
    approximate living stature, the stature estimation may be inaccurate.

    When using regression methods, some individuals may fall outside the typical stature interval for
    the population (e.g., particularly short and tall persons), and the estimation of their statures may
    be less accurate than those with more typical statures.

    Pathological conditions may adversely affect stature estimation.

    When standards are not available for a target population, caution should be used when estimating
    stature.

    Estimating stature of subadults should be done with caution. The paucity of research related to
    estimating statures of subadults makes these estimations suspect.

    5.0 Unacceptable Practices

    The following practices are considered unacceptable and should be avoided when estimating
    stature:

    The use of Trotter’s formulae using tibia measurements without making proper
    adjustments. Trotter’s tibia measurement apparently excluded the medial malleolus

    Page 3 of 4
    (Trotter and Gleser 1952, Trotter 1970), although she reported her measurement included
    the medial malleolus.

    Reporting a point estimation alone when the regression approach is used. Include an
    explicit prediction interval.

    Reporting a “range” for a stature estimation based on a regression formula. Statistically


    speaking, range is the difference between a variable’s minimum and maximum observed
    values. “Interval” is a more appropriate term.

    Using multiple stature estimation formulae and then averaging those estimations to
    produce a single estimation. This approach reduces the accuracy of the estimation and is
    unacceptable. The single formula with the smallest standard error should be used and its
    results presented, not an average of estimations.

    Using the estimated mean bone length in a whole bone stature regression formula when
    estimating stature from a fragmentary bone length, without including the additional error
    such an approach requires. Omitting either error factor produces an unrealistically small
    estimation of error in living stature.

    6.0 References Cited

    Trotter, Mildred, and Goldine C. Gleser


    1952 Estimation of Stature from Long Bones of American Whites and Negroes.
    American Journal of Physical Anthropology 10:463-514.

    Trotter, Mildred
    1970 Estimation of Stature from Intact Long Limb Bones. In T.D. Stewart (ed.) Personal
    Identification in Mass Disasters, pp. 71-84. Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of
    Natural History, Washington, DC.

    Page 4 of 4

    You might also like