Examining and Refining the Quadratic Crown Height Method of Age Estimation

This chapter begins with an overview of the quadratic method and some of the potential advantages of aging methods that use remnant crown height. It utilizes the crown height age estimation method in the context of studying Neolithic-age cattle teeth from Kenya in the early 1980s, ultimately with the idea of also applying the method to sheep, goats and wild ungulate remains. The crown height age estimation method developed by Richard Klein calculates age at death through a quadratic equation describing a curvilinear relationship between actual age and attrition of the tooth crown. Published mortality profiles using the quadratic method rely on age data derived from one permanent tooth and one deciduous tooth to document the total lifespan. “Catastrophic and even attritional mortality profiles constructed with ages obtained by the quadratic formula may provide a less accurate reflection of the actual age structure of the dental sample than originally assumed.