Original paper
A comparison of the direct and indirect methods of estimating skeletal height from tibial fragments in black South Africans
Spies, Amy Joy; Bidmos, Mubarak Ariyo; Brits, Desiré
Anthropologischer Anzeiger Volume 77 No. 2 (2020), p. 147 - 159
published: Apr 30, 2020
published online: Feb 20, 2020
manuscript accepted: Nov 21, 2019
final revised version received: Nov 20, 2019
manuscript revision requested: Oct 28, 2019
manuscript received: Jul 30, 2019
DOI: 10.1127/anthranz/2020/1129
ArtNo. ESP140007702004, Price: 29.00 €
Abstract
The estimation of maximum bone length from its fragments is important in forensic anthropology as these length estimates can be used to estimate the total skeletal height (TSH), and thereby stature, of unknown skeletal remains. This is known as the indirect method of stature estimation. Alternatively, TSH can be estimated directly from bone fragments without first estimating maximum bone length. While regression equations for estimating maximum bone length from its fragments exist for long bones of the upper and lower limbs, these equations are population- and sex-specific and their use on populations other than the one they were derived from is not recommended. The aim of this study was therefore to develop formulae for estimating maximum tibial length from its fragments in black South Africans, which previously did not exist, and to compare the accuracies of the direct and indirect methods of estimating TSH from tibial fragments. Several measurements representing fragments were measured on the tibiae of 99 male and 99 female black South Africans, and equations estimating tibial length from these measurements were derived. Correlation coefficients of each equation were significant, and all equations estimated tibial length with moderate to high accuracy. A comparison of the standard errors of estimate (SEEs) between the direct and indirect methods of stature estimation indicate that the direct method is more accurate and should be used to estimate stature from tibial fragments when such equations exist.
Keywords
Forensic anthropology • indirect method of stature estimation • tibial length • fragmentary bones • South African populations