Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
housed in lacunae, as already discussed. During bone growth, osteoblasts develop on the
periosteal surface of preexisting bone and deposit on these areas to increase bone thickness
(
Leeson and Leeson, 1981
).
BONE HISTOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY
This section of the chapter will briefly discuss the various ways that anthropologists can
utilize bone histology. Each subsection includes useful references for additional sources
should the reader wish to learn more about a specific topic.
Species Identification
Bone histological research generally focuses on mammalian bone, specifically the Haver-
sian system including such variables as secondary osteon and Haversian canal size and
osteon, osteocyte, and lacunae counts (Enlow and Brown, 1956, 1957, 1958;
Enlow, 1962a;
Jowsey, 1966; Frost, 1987; Burr et al., 1990; Harsanyi, 1990; Pfeiffer, 1998; Mulhern and
Ubelaker, 2001
). The size, shape, and density of the Haversian system and organization of
bone differ between human and nonhuman remains as well as from one mammalian species
to another (
Jowsey, 1966; Mulhern and Ubelaker, 2001; Horni, 2002
). These dissimilarities can
help determine whether fragmentary remains discovered in a forensic or archaeological
context are the result of a natural process. If not, and the remains are human, this may be
cause for a medicolegal death investigation.
Biological Profile and Age-at-Death Estimations
Bone biologists and anthropologists have recognized that with increasing age, there are
concurrent microstructural changes in bone (
Enlow, 1963; Frost, 1963, 1964, 1987; Kerley
1965; Lacroix, 1971; Kerley and Ubelaker, 1978; Ubelaker, 1989; Stout, 1989; Martin and
Burr, 1989; Curtis, 2003; Crowder and Stout, 2012
). Monro (1776) was the first to acknowledge
that as an individual gets older, loss of bone occurs through expansion of the medullary
cavity and related cortical thinning as well as loss of bone within the cortex itself.
There is a large amount of research that discusses the potential relationship between
changes in human bone microstructure and increasing age. Age-at-death estimates are based
on the process of bone remodeling. They consider the correlation between increasing age and
bone microstructure; this is often done with regression analyses. Regression analyses focus
on the correlation between dependent and independent variables (in this case age and
bone microstructure). This correlation is used in bone histology to predict age. As individuals
get older and bone is remodeled, secondary osteons generally decrease in overall area and
increase in overall density. Because of this, the secondary osteon is commonly quantified
or measured. Histomorphometrics is the quantitative study of the microscopic organization
and structure of a tissue (such as bone).
For example,
Kerley (1965), Kerley and Ubelaker (1978)
,and
Thompson (1979)
have
utilized secondary osteon counts to estimate age-at-death. Similarly, Ahlqvist and Damsten
(1969),
Thompson (1979)
, and
Ericksen (1991)
examined osteon population densities to
