Matskási István (szerk.): A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum évkönyve 93. (Budapest 2001)

Csapó, J., Bernert, Zs. , Csapó, Zs. , Pohn, G. , Csapó-Kiss, Zs. , Költő, L. , Szikossy, I. ; Némethy, S.: Introduction of amino acid racemisation based age estimation into paleoanthropological [sic] research

glutamic acids besides D/L aspartic and D/L glutamic acid ratios. D/L ratios as well as the ln(l+D/L)(l-D/L) function were presented as a function of age. We calculated correlations of known ages and the D/L ratios of the two amino acids by linear regression. We found a very close positive relation between D/L ratio and age in case of aspartic acid contents. The value of r was 0.91 for the D/L ratio as well as for the calculated function. When analysing glutamic acid we concluded that the values of r fell between 0.98-0.99 for the D/L ratio as well for the calculated function. Our examination of this dental sample of 22 teeth also led us to the conclusion that D-aspartic acid is a useful indicator for the estimation of individual age if treated to the analytical methods (protein hydrolysis, derivative production, separation and identification of D- and L-enantiomers) we applied. We also drew the conclusion that D-glutamic acid content is also suitable for accurate age estimation beside D-aspartic acid, though D-glutamic acid is present in teeth in a smaller concentration because of its different racemisation half-period. That is the reason why it is more difficult to measure and its scoring is a more demanding job for researchers. Our first conclusions were based on a numerically small sample but we supported them by analysing 102 dental samples in 1999. At the same time we opened up our field of research from comparatively young age groups towards older ones. Our 1999 examinations produced r:0.93 positive correlations between D/L ratios and individual ages both in case of D-aspartic and D-glutamic acids. The relation of an individual's age and the D-aspartic acid content of his or her tooth was presented in Fig. 1, the correlation of age and D-glutamic acid was presented in Fig. 2. These two correlations are eminently suitable to estimate the age of any individual in the age envelope of 40-86 years on the basis of the D-aspartic and D-glutamic content of his or her tooth. The results of our 1999 research work confirmed those arrived at in 1998, so we may state the existence of an extremely close link between any individual's age and the D-aspartic acid content of his or her tooth, and the D/L aspartic acid ratio on the basis of the analysis of a numerically large sample of teeth. Another one of our assumptions was also proven correct: it was not just D-aspartic acid content but also D-glutamic acid content that could be used to estimate the age of an individual if a sufficiently sensitive method of analysis was provided to measure the small concentration of D-glutamic acid present. In the third phase of our work we tried to apply the calibration diagrams produced by our amino acid racemisation method on tooth samples originating in historical times. The age of individuals from the Kereki-Homokbánya Avar cemetery were estimated by the above mentioned anthropological methods in advance. The average of their age estimated by "traditional" anthropological methods, D/L aspartic and D/L glutamic ratios as well the age of these bone samples calculated on