Proposition d’une démarche commune pour la sélection de variations asymptomatiques osseuses et dentaires répétables et reproductibles en anthropologie biologique

Abstract

Asymptomatic variations (AV) in bones and teeth are widely used in biological anthropology, particularly to understand intra- and inter-population affinities. This study focuses on the first step of any study: the repeatability and reproducibility of the method implemented. Using the Kappa coefficient, the reliability of 198 variables divided into three anatomical areas (cranial, post-cranial and teeth) was analyzed. The sample used was selected among the best represented and best preserved individuals of the Notre-Dame-du-Bourg osteo-archaeological collection (Digne-les-Bains, medieval and modern period). The analyses were performed after four rounds of scoring (three observers), and when more than 20 observations of polymorphic variations were obtained. The quality of agreement was established according to the Fleiss et al. scale (2003). Although missing data were a hindrance in this study, several proposals were made to overcome the problem. We also highlight and discuss the fact that experience has an impact on the observation of qualitative variables. The outcome is a proposal for a protocol based on selecting repeatable and reproducible AVs to normalize comparisons between studies in both osteoarchaeological and forensic contexts.

Keywords

• morphological characters
• non-metric traits
• Kappa coefficient
• intra-observer agreement
• inter-observer agreement