Skeletal Development and Ageing

This chapter considers many of the fundamental issues concerning juvenile skeletal remains including the origin of such material and the various techniques by which they have been studied. Consideration is also given to the variability of child growth and development and includes a discussion of a variety of influencing factors including sex differences, genetic and environmental factors. An overview of skeletal age versus dental age and biological age versus chronological age is provided and forms an introduction to the material presented in subsequent chapters. Age estimation in the living is also introduced due to its increasing relevance to issues surrounding border control, migration and human trafficking and highlights that age assessment from the skeleton is not restricted to the domain of the deceased. Finally, sex estimation methods from various elements of the juvenile skeleton are introduced and the utility of such methods are discussed.