THE ROLE OF FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY IN THE RECOVERY AND ANALYSIS OF BRANCH-DAVIDIAN COMPOUND VICTIMS - ASSESSING THE ACCURACY OF AGE ESTIMATIONS

Age-at-death estimations of 44 individuals (27 adults, 17 children) fr om the Branch Davidian sample were compared with their actual ages. Es timations were evaluated for bias and accuracy for the actual age at d eath. Although the overall average estimates correlated well with the actual ages (r = 0.946), several individuals displayed high residual r equiring further analysis and review. These individuals displayed age- related features that did not correspond with the expected morphology for individuals of their ages. Several age estimation techniques score d these individuals with all bias in the same direction. These example s should serve as cautionary reminders that biology does not always co rrelate with expected outcomes, particularly in such multifaceted trai ts such as age.