The impact of aging method on the age-at-death distribution: a case of medieval Staraya Ladoga skeletal sample

Abstract

The problem of estimating age-at-death structures using different methods is examined through the medieval skeletal sample from Staraya Ladoga. A comparative analysis of age estimates obtained using traditional age determination methods and a new method proposed by a group of British and American researchers, Transition Analysis 3 (TA3), was carried out. The skeletal distributions were compared with those based on data from preindustrial societies. The age-at-death distributions under TA3 showed significant similarity to data from Russia in the second half of the 19th century. The average age of death estimated within the traditional approach was 24,6 years, and among those who died older than 15 years, it was 41,1 years. The adjusted estimates from TA3 were 27,7 and 48,4 years, respectively. Employing the regression model proposed by J.P. Bocquet-Appel, a rough estimate of the life expectancy (e0) of medieval inhabitants of Staraya Ladoga was derived, considering the juvenility index and the estimated rate of natural increase. The most likely value of the e0 is in the range of 22–30 years.

Keywords

• paleodemography
• age estimation methods
• staraya ladoga
• preservation of skeletons
• transition analysis 3