A method of age determination on archaeological and modern cattle (Bos taurus) by counting of tooth annuli in the cementum

Abstract

One of the methods to determine the individual age of cattle found in archaeological materials is to count the incremental lines (annuli) in the teeth. Another method is to detect the wear and, taking into account the type of soil and other external factors for each area, relate the degree of wear to age of the individual's. This paper describes the techniques used when sectioning the teeth and preparing the samples. A reference ma-terial comprising sectioned and stained teeth from recent cattle of known age is also described. Finally, the differences and the correlation between the two named age determination methods are discussed