A new aid to aging immature skeletons: development of the occipital bone

A total of 150 immature and young adult skeletons from the medieval necropolis at Mistihalj, in southern Yugoslavia, were aged by the standard methods: dentition, osseous development, and extent of vertebral union. The development of the occipital bone was examined in 117 cases to determine if it could be used in aging the skeletons. The stages of development were found to be regular enough to permit reasonable prediction of age for other Yugoslavian specimens. Comparisons with a series of 20 German fetuses suggest measurements of the parts of the occipital bone can be used to help determine the approximate age of skeletons in the fetal to few-months post-natal range. Comparisons with the ten Egyptian skulls and data on 19 unpublished Eskimo skeletons suggest that the stages of development can be used with other populations.