Testing Anatomical Methods for Stature Estimation on Individuals from the W. M. Bass Donated Skeletal Collection
Heli Maijanen M.A.,
Heli Maijanen M.A.
Laboratory of Archaeology, University of Oulu, PO Box 1000, FIN-90014 University of Oulu, Finland.
Department of Anthropology, University of Tennessee, 250 South Stadium Hall, Knoxville, TN 37996.
Search for more papers by this authorHeli Maijanen M.A.,
Heli Maijanen M.A.
Laboratory of Archaeology, University of Oulu, PO Box 1000, FIN-90014 University of Oulu, Finland.
Department of Anthropology, University of Tennessee, 250 South Stadium Hall, Knoxville, TN 37996.
Search for more papers by this authorAdditional information and reprint requests:Heli Maijanen, M.A.Department of AnthropologyUniversity of Tennessee250 South Stadium Hall Knoxville TN 37996E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
Abstract: This study compared eight versions of the anatomical method for stature estimation on a white male sample (n = 34) from the W. M. Bass Donated Skeletal Collection. The aim was to evaluate errors in the estimates and to discuss how useful the methods are in forensic context. The average error estimating living stature was less than 1 cm for six of the methods. The correlations between the estimates were high (r = 0.982–0.999). In practice, differences between the versions as well as those between long bone-based equations and anatomical methods were small. Anatomical method is nevertheless more accurate than long bone regressions when individuals with atypical body proportions are examined.
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