Cementochronology, to cut or not to cut?

Abstract

One of the continuing problems in paleopathology and paleoepidemiology is an inability to accurately age adult skeletons. Accurate age estimations are critical to the proper evaluation of population health and are necessary in circumventing certain aspects of the osteological paradox. Cementochronology is most likely the only age indicator in anthropology that directly considers a continuously growing tissue and does not require either complex statistical manipulations or the use of a reference population. The major issues and recent advances linked to this technique are reviewed for its successful implementation. This review is a partial outcome of an international research program initiated in 2010 to develop and expand cementochronology. Because cementochronology is a reasonably straightforward histological protocol, it can be implemented in less than 24h for one tooth at a relatively low cost. The only aspect of cementochronology that requires extensive previous experience is the counting of increments. These unique aspects largely justify the regular implementation of cementochronology in paleoepidemiology and paleopathology in the confident exploration of "population health" issues and demographic inferences.

Keywords: Age indicator; Cementum annulations; Histology; Paleoepidemiology; Paleopathology.