ForAge User Manual
Detelina Stoyanova, Bridget Algee-Hewitt and Dennis Slice
November 17, 2017
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ForAge is a program for estimating the age-at-death of human skeletal remains based on 3D laser scans
of the pubic symphysis. The program is written in Java and should run on any platform with a native
Java Runtime Environment (JRE – https://java.com/). ForAge is available for download at
http://morphlab.sc.fsu.edu/software/forAge/.
ForAge calculates three shape measure of the pubic symphysis – the SAH-Score, the minimum bending
energy (BE) calculated by thin-plate splines (TPS) and the curvature of the ventral margin. The SAH-
Score and the BE both measure the “flatness” of the symphyseal face and capture the transitioning of
the symphyseal surface from being covered by ridges and furrows to becoming flat as the age of the
individuals progresses. The curvature of the ventral margin quantifies the transition of the pubic
symphysis to a more oval shape. ForAge produces age-at-death estimates using regression models for
each of the three shape measures. In addition it estimates the age-at-death using two multivariate
regression models combining the ventral curvature measure with the SAH-Score and the BE. The
choice if measures, their mathematical basis, the details of their implementation, and a discussion on
the regression models are provided in the following publications:
1. Slice, D. E. and Algee-Hewitt, B. F. B. (2015), Modeling Bone Surface Morphology: A Fully
Quantitative Method for Age-at-Death Estimation Using the Pubic Symphysis. J Forensic Sci, 60: 835–
843. doi:10.1111/1556-4029.12778
2. Stoyanova, D., Algee-Hewitt, B. F. B. and Slice, D. E. (2015), An enhanced computational method
for age-at-death estimation based on the pubic symphysis using 3D laser scans and thin plate splines.
Am. J. Phys. Anthropol., 158: 431–440. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.22797
3. Stoyanova, D., Algee-Hewitt, B. F. B., Kim J. and Slice, D. E. (2016), A Computational Framework
for Age-at-Death Estimation from the Skeleton: Surface and Outline Analysis of 3D Laser Scans of the
Adult Pubic Symphysis. J Forensic Sci (accepted)
Installation: ForAge is a multiplatform program. To install it, simply download the .zip file and unzip
into a convenient directory.
Running the program: To run the program, assuming you have an appropriate Java runtime or
development system installed, you can just double-click the forAge.jar file.
Using the program:
1. The program accepts one PLY file of the surface of a pubic symphysis
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PLY_(file_format)). The user should use the menu File→Open to select
the PLY file.
2. After selecting the PLY file the visualization tool displays the scan after it has been translated, scaled
and rotated using principal component analysis (PCA). The calculation of the ventral curvature requires
that the ventral margin of the pubic symphysis is facing upward. This positioning cannot be automated
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