MAXILLARY SUTURES AS AN INDICATOR OF ADULT AGE AT DEATH: REDUCING ERROR AND CODIFYING APPROACHES By CARRIE A. BROWN A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2016 © 2016 Carrie A. Brown To Jacob and Isaac, for support and encouragement, but also for lots of laughs, and to Baby Wime, who made sure I got this done ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thanks first go to my committee, Drs. Michael Warren, David Daegling, John Krigbaum, and Lawrence Winner, for pushing me to challenge myself in new realms in this research. An additional thank you and heartfelt gratitude go to my Committee Chair, Dr. Warren, for continuously supporting me and fostering my growth as a forensic anthropologist, sometimes even from thousands of miles away! And to my master’s committee during my time at Chico State, Drs. Eric Bartelink, Beth Shook, and John Byrd, thank you for setting me up for success in my doctoral program. The second round of appreciation is for all of my laboratory and academic colleagues from California to Hawaii to Florida and now in Nebraska. I truly would not be the anthropologist I am today without your support, encouragement, and, of course, peer reviews! Thanks especially to my frequent co-researcher and fellow native Pennsylvanian, Allysha Winburn, for her endless enthusiasm and positivity, and Dr. Derek “Monkey” Benedix for his unwavering support during the many ups and downs of my year of data collection. Thank you to the following individuals for providing access to their collections and facilitating my time at them: Ms. Shirley Schermer and Ms. Robin Lillie, Stanford Collection, University of Iowa; Dr. Heather Edgar and her graduate students in the Laboratory of Human Osteology, Maxwell Documented Collection, University of New Mexico; Drs. Dawnie Steadman and Heli Maijanen, William M. Bass Donated Collection, University of Tennessee, Knoxville; Dr. David Hunt, Terry Collection, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History; Dr. Lyman Jellema, Hamann-Todd Collection, Cleveland Museum of Natural History; Dr. Yoshiharu Matsuno and Ms. Chie Koga, Chiba Documented Collection, Chiba University Medical School; and Drs. Yoshinori 4 Kawai and Yoshikatsu Negishi, Jikei Documented Collection, Department of Anatomy, Jikei University Medical School. Thank you also to Nicole and Zach Thomas, Kyle McCormick, Sean Tallman, and Greg and MaryBeth Leifer for providing a home away from home during my research across the U.S., and an additional thanks to Sean Tallman for being a surprise research partner during my time in Japan! Finally, thank you to my family, who has set me up for success since day one. Sincere thanks to Mom and Dad, who have always encouraged and supported me no matter how far away I have been, and Amanda, who so often lent a sympathetic ear and truly understands what is going on inside my head! Many thanks Bob and Pam for putting up with my constant typing and paper-shuffling when visiting and checking in on me from afar. These acknowledgments would not be complete without saying thank you to my husband, Jake, and my stepson, Isaac, who both kept me in good spirits throughout this process but also continually remind me what life is all about. The last thank you goes to Baby Wime, who gave me the true deadline for this dissertation. We cannot wait to meet you! This research was made possible by the William R. Maples Dissertation Award from the Department of Anthropology at the University of Florida and a student research fellowship funded by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education and the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (formerly the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command). 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. 4 LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ 9 LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................ 15 ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... 18 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 20 Complications in Skeletal Age Estimation ............................................................... 20 Sutures and Age Estimation ................................................................................... 23 Biomechanical Considerations ................................................................................ 25 Research Goals ...................................................................................................... 28 Research Questions ............................................................................................... 29 Chapter Outline ....................................................................................................... 33 2 SKELETAL AGE ESTIMATION .............................................................................. 34 Age and Aging ........................................................................................................ 34 Skeletal Growth and Development ......................................................................... 38 Age Estimation Using Skeletal Indicators ............................................................... 44 Variability .......................................................................................................... 44 Methods............................................................................................................ 48 The Statistical Basis of Age Estimation................................................................... 55 Cranial Suture Age Estimation ................................................................................ 61 Vault Sutures .................................................................................................... 63 Palatal Sutures ................................................................................................. 66 Summary ................................................................................................................ 73 3 THE HUMAN PALATE ............................................................................................ 77 Palatal Form ........................................................................................................... 77 Facial Growth and Development ............................................................................. 79 Craniofacial Growth Models ............................................................................. 81 Timing of Craniofacial Growth .......................................................................... 84 Secular Changes in Craniofacial Growth .......................................................... 89 Palatal Growth and Development ........................................................................... 92 Prenatal Palatal Growth and Development....................................................... 92 Postnatal Palatal Growth and Development ..................................................... 95 Palatal Developmental Anomalies .................................................................... 98 Palatal Function ...................................................................................................... 99 6 Mastication ..................................................................................................... 101 Altered Function through Tooth Loss ............................................................. 106 The Role of Sutures ....................................................................................... 108 Palatal Variants ..................................................................................................... 115 Transverse Palatine Suture Shape ................................................................. 116 Palate Shape .................................................................................................. 116 Tori ................................................................................................................. 117 Palatine Bridging ............................................................................................ 121 Marginal Crest ................................................................................................ 122 Lesser Palatine Foramina ............................................................................... 122 Bone Quality and Porosity .............................................................................. 123 Summary .............................................................................................................. 123 4 MATERIALS AND METHODS .............................................................................. 134 Sampling Strategy ................................................................................................ 134 Documented Skeletal Collections ......................................................................... 139 Data Collection ..................................................................................................... 142 Qualitative Data .............................................................................................. 143 Quantitative Data ...........................................................................................