The purpose of this study was to develop a method of estimating the age of an individual based on obliteration of the four maxillary (palatal) sutures. A sample of 186 individuals of known age, race, and sex were examined. It was found that males of both races (black and white) exhibit more suture obliteration than females at the same age. During the early adult years, maxillary suture obliteration progresses at nearly the same rate in both sexes; however, the age of old individuals may be greatly overestimated using this method. Although this method cannot be used for exact estimates of individual age, it is valuable in establishing the age range, sorting commingled remains, and estimating skeletal age when only the maxilla is present.

Time-since-death estimations are usually based on physical decomposition of the corpse, insect succession, and contextual associations. The rates of change and succession are based on decomposition studies, most of which control access of scavengers to the corpse; however, many naturally exposed corpses are subject to scavenger modification. These modifications change the rate of decomposition, the pattern of insect succession, and the context of associations, thus altering estimations of time since death. A controlled feeding study with captive wolves and road-killed deer is pertinent to understanding canid scavenging and how scavenging may alter postmortem changes. During feeding, the wolves commonly dismember and devour the deer in a predictable sequence. Although there are some variations in the usual sequence, the carcass is always moved, and skeletal elements are separated, diminished in size and scattered. Scavenging must, therefore, be considered in estimating time since death.

No abstract

No abstract

Contemporaneous sloth and human footprints from the terminal Pleistocene at White Sands National Monument suggest stalking.