Three decades after the publication of the Lamendin method for adult age-at-death estimation: Methodological evolution of the procedure and interpretations

Abstract

More than three decades have passed since the publication of Lamendin et al.’s proposal in 1992. Over this time,numerous investigations have been conducted to assess the applicability of the technique in different populationswith acceptable results in terms of estimation errors. The proposal by Lamendin and colleagues remains relevanttoday, and has made a significant contribution to adult age-at-death estimation due to its simplicity, repeatability, replicability, and high performance. Indeed, significant progress towards systematizing and strengthening the procedure has been reported in the published literature. One noteworthy advancement is thedevelopment of an international database that supports the use of Bayesian statistics for age-at-death estimation.This resource plays a crucial role in standardizing the methodology and improving the reliability for obtainingmore reliable results on a global scale. The aim of this study is to investigate the historical evolution of thetechnique, to assess the accuracy of the results obtained by different analytic procedures, and to explore itsimpact in forensic applications through a systematic analysis of the specialized literature on this field. Thecurrent state of research indicates that this type of methodological research is an ongoing process, far from beingcompleted. Many questions and challenges that require further attention to address effectively these issuesremain unanswered, such as the development of non-linear regressions and probabilistic approaches, thedeepening of procedures that improve global approximations, and the intensification of research focused onachieving more accurate estimations among individuals over 70 years-old. However, studies generally agree thatthe Lamendin technique works well for individuals between the ages of 30–60 years. It is still in force today,although the method has been significantly perfected. Despite the degree of research development in this area,further efforts are needed to improve the understanding and performance of these kinds of procedures. This willultimately lead to an improvement in the accuracy and reliability of forensic investigation results worldwide.