A Debreceni Déri Múzeum Évkönyve 1988 (Debrecen, 1990)

Természettudomány - Szathmáry László: A Complex Way of the Reconstruction of Stature

László Szathmáry A Complex Way of the Reconstruction of Stature Introduction The success of the reconstruction of the stature from long bones primarily depends on how similar the proportions of the long bones of the examined individual's skeleton (in the range proper to the stature) are to the ratios of the long bones involved in the chosen procedure of reconduction. (This is the so-called principle of constitutional similarity.) Though the most actual distribution concerning a population can be caught, undoubtedly, using the methods of PEARSON (1899) or TROTTER and GLESER (1952) (cf.

: Szathmáry 1976), a similarly actual distribution concerning individuals cannot always be reached using these two methods. Let us take an example of a masculine skeleton, at which the length of the humerus is 29.7 cm, the radius is 21.5 cm, the ulna is 22.9 cm, the femur is 39.4 cm, the tibia is 32.1 cm and that of the fibula is 32.0 cm — in this case the most actual stature can primarily be determined by the method of MANOUVRIER (1893) as the constitutional ratios are the same. But such obvious similarities can only occur in very few cases. If the constitution of the examined individual does not positively draw near to any methods, the efficacy of the reconstruciion will not be increased significantly even if we decide on the relatively suitable method at all. Connecting with the example above mention .must be made about the fact that even in the case of such obvious similarity there is a possibility of error springing from the unknown length of the trunk, which is, by the way, one of the causes of the significant differences found in the case of the same skeleton between the values of stature determined by different methods. These differences, as a matter of course, make it impossible to perform a comparing analysis on the stature of a population in which the statures of the individuals are determined by different methods, because the differences between the reconstructed statures go back to methodical causes to a certain extent. Even if we consider the principle of constitutional similarity it is not fortunate to decide on any of the methods respectively. The information provided by the length of long bones can be made use of more successfully if we choose not only one of the methods but combine several methods in a way that we consider only those values of stature calculated by each method from the length of the long bones, from which the stature can be determined with less deviation from the average. These values being more acute can refer to a possible under- or over-estimation. A complex adoption of several methods presents itself in this way. But the 81