Skeletal Age Assessment of Fossil Hominids

Roentgenography provides several different types of information of age at death, for example osteometric measurements (i.e. measurements of length and breadth of bones and their cortical thickness) and osteographic scores (entailing descriptive criteria of bone age). Using roentgenography, the bone remains of hands of two prehistoric skeletons, Kebara 2 (60,000 yearsBP) and Ohalo 2 (19,000 yearsBP) were assessed for age at death. The data of osteometric measurements and osteographic scores agreed well with other methods of age appreciation (e.g. dental, pelvic, sternal rib approach): 32 years for Kebara 2 and 35 years for Ohalo 2. We recommend the use of different roentgenographic methods, e.g. osteometric measurements and osteographic scores, in addition to other methods for prediction of age at death in skeletal populations. The major advantage of this procedure is its non-invasiveness and the abundance of information it provided.