Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
FIGURE 3.2
Pubic symphyses representing the six phases in the Suchey
e
Brooks method, from youngest (I) to
oldest (VI).
individuals in different ancestral groups age differently.
5
Newmeans and standard deviations
were given for each revised Suchey
e
Brooks phase (I
e
VI) for the three populations, but sex
differences are typically the only variable considered during application of the method.
Brooks and Suchey's (1990)
revised Todd method rejects the three-component approach of
McKern and Stewart (1957)
. They asserted that the three components do not vary indepen-
dently and that an approach focusing on the entire pattern of morphological change (i.e.,
Todd's phasemethod) is easier to use. Therefore, Suchey andBrooks studied 1225modern indi-
viduals from Los Angeles, including the 739 males that were previously analyzed by
Katz and
Suchey (1986)
. These individuals all had legally documented ages ranging from 14 to 99 years.
Brooks and Suchey (1990)
used the
Katz and Suchey (1986)
analysis to refine the morpho-
logical descriptions for the modified Todd method. While the authors commended Todd for
his accurate and comprehensive description of the aging of the pubic bone, modern statistical
analyses on larger samples warranted combining several phases, resulting in a six phase
5
As discussed earlier, this could be due to genetic factors, but is probably more influenced by
environmental factors, like nutrition, access to medical care, disease load, activity level, stress, etc.
