Cranial suture obliteration patterns as an ageing method for dog crania

Abstract

Most of the fundamental methods for analyzing archaeological dog remains need to be better developed. This is particularly true for methods designed to estimate age at death. Most ageing methods are either destructive and specialized or useful only for identifying juveniles. Cranial suture closure and obliteration patterning are commonly examined to estimate the general age at death of human remains but have seen little use in zooarchaeology. This study develops a simple and non-destructive ageing method based on a suture and synchondrosis obliteration using a sample of over 700 modern dog crania. Scoring the extent of obliteration of individual sutures provides a valuable means of differentiating adult and juvenile crania. Combining the scores for multiple sutures permits the assignment of dog crania to an age group, albeit with less certainty among middle-aged and older adults. Breed, crania shape, sex, and body size all likely create variation in suture obliteration patterns and their relationships to dog age. The method should be used conservatively and in combination with other ageing methods when possible.