Abstract：
OBJECTIVE: The study of puberty is a well-established area of bioarcheological research, which greatly enhances our understanding of adolescence and growth in the past. Since the publications of Shapland and Lewis\' works, which have become \"standards\" for estimating puberty in skeletal material, no additional osteological indicators of puberty have been proposed. Nevertheless, clinical practice constantly develops skeletal maturation markers that could be useful in bioarcheology. This study aims to assess the applicability and reliability of novel puberty indicators as a complementary tool to estimate puberty in skeletal remains.
METHODS: Four new maturation markers including spheno-occipital synchondrosis, humeral head ossification, calcaneal apophysis ossification, and mandibular premolar mineralization were selected and applied to a sample of 85 adolescents from pre-Roman southern Italy (Pontecagnano, 7th-4th BCE).
RESULTS: Despite some limits in adapting the original clinical methods to osteoarcheological material, the use of these novel skeletal indicators had moderate to excellent scoring repeatability and an overall high agreement with the puberty and menarche status previously estimated with standard methods. These results encourage us to apply these markers in bioarcheology. In some cases, minor adaptations of the original scoring systems are suggested to enhance reliability.
CONCLUSIONS: Including the proposed indicators in routine puberty data collection allows us to refine puberty estimation and improve the ability to identify key growth milestones in poorly preserved skeletons. Further application to osteological collections with diverse chronology and geographical differences is needed to assess how and to what extent the newly proposed maturation markers perform.
METHODS: Four new maturation markers including spheno-occipital synchondrosis, humeral head ossification, calcaneal apophysis ossification, and mandibular premolar mineralization were selected and applied to a sample of 85 adolescents from pre-Roman southern Italy (Pontecagnano, 7th-4th BCE).
RESULTS: Despite some limits in adapting the original clinical methods to osteoarcheological material, the use of these novel skeletal indicators had moderate to excellent scoring repeatability and an overall high agreement with the puberty and menarche status previously estimated with standard methods. These results encourage us to apply these markers in bioarcheology. In some cases, minor adaptations of the original scoring systems are suggested to enhance reliability.
CONCLUSIONS: Including the proposed indicators in routine puberty data collection allows us to refine puberty estimation and improve the ability to identify key growth milestones in poorly preserved skeletons. Further application to osteological collections with diverse chronology and geographical differences is needed to assess how and to what extent the newly proposed maturation markers perform.
摘要：
目的：青春期研究是生物考古学研究的一个成熟领域，这大大增强了我们对过去青春期和成长的理解。自从夏普兰和刘易斯的作品出版以来，这已经成为估计骨骼材料青春期的“标准”，尚未提出青春期的其他骨学指标。然而，临床实践不断开发骨骼成熟标记，可用于生物考古学。这项研究旨在评估新型青春期指标的适用性和可靠性，作为评估骨骼遗骸青春期的补充工具。
方法：四个新的成熟标记，包括蝶枕骨联合软骨病，肱骨头骨化,跟骨隆起骨化，选择下颌前磨牙矿化并应用于来自罗马前意大利南部的85名青少年的样本（Pontecagnano，公元前7-4年）。
结果：尽管在使原始临床方法适应骨考古材料方面存在一些限制，这些新的骨骼指标的使用具有中等至优异的评分可重复性,与以前用标准方法估计的青春期和月经初潮状态总体吻合较高.这些结果鼓励我们在生物考古学中应用这些标记。在某些情况下,建议对原始评分系统进行轻微调整，以提高可靠性。
结论：在常规青春期数据收集中包括建议的指标，使我们能够完善青春期估计，并提高识别保存不良骨骼中关键生长里程碑的能力。需要进一步应用于具有不同年代和地理差异的骨学集合，以评估新提出的成熟标记物的表现方式和程度。
方法：四个新的成熟标记，包括蝶枕骨联合软骨病，肱骨头骨化,跟骨隆起骨化，选择下颌前磨牙矿化并应用于来自罗马前意大利南部的85名青少年的样本（Pontecagnano，公元前7-4年）。
结果：尽管在使原始临床方法适应骨考古材料方面存在一些限制，这些新的骨骼指标的使用具有中等至优异的评分可重复性,与以前用标准方法估计的青春期和月经初潮状态总体吻合较高.这些结果鼓励我们在生物考古学中应用这些标记。在某些情况下,建议对原始评分系统进行轻微调整，以提高可靠性。
结论：在常规青春期数据收集中包括建议的指标，使我们能够完善青春期估计，并提高识别保存不良骨骼中关键生长里程碑的能力。需要进一步应用于具有不同年代和地理差异的骨学集合，以评估新提出的成熟标记物的表现方式和程度。
