CURRENT TRENDS IN METHODS FOR ESTIMATING AGE AND SEX FROM THE ADULT HUMAN SKELETON

Age-at-death and sex estimation are considered among the essential parameters in osteobiography and represent the first stage of study in bioarchaeology,forensic anthropology and paleoanthropology. This review discusses the accuracy, reliability, and reproducibility of various methodological approaches in estimating important biological profile parameters based on adult skeletal remains. It emphasizes in various aspects the contribution of Vladimir Novotny for the development of current methods for studying the skeleton. The need for accurate and reliable morphological and metric methods is still necessary in the skeletal identification process despite the use of a molecular approach. The results of morphological, metric and other methods complement each other and are equivalent and unbiased if used correctly. The more frequent use of modern imaging techniques and geometric morphometric methods in anthropological research has facilitated the acquisition and revision of available population data. They also allow the development of robust methods applicable to individuals with unknown population affinity. Estimating age after death in adults is still a very difficult part of estimating the biological profile. Current age estimation methods can only estimate age accurately and reliably over very wide age intervals. The fact that these approaches are mostly based on a single skeletal indicator assessed visually or use an inappropriate statistical approach, does not contribute to improving this situation. For estimating sex, the DSP (Diagnose Sexuelle Probabiliste)method is becoming a valid method and widely used technique for estimating sex in terms of accuracy and reliability. Other methods using software programs facilitate the work of biological anthropologists in various areas of research and practice. This article evaluates the current development of age andsex estimation methods and considers possible future directions.