Age at death is estimated from skeletal remains through the analysis of multiple indicators — the degree of fusion of specific growth plates that close at known ages, the pattern of wear on joint surfaces, the development of articular changes associated with aging, the state of dental eruption and wear.

These indicators provide ranges rather than exact ages, and the 35-to-45 estimate represents the central range supported by the available evidence.

He was a middle-aged man, not a young adult.

He was physically robust.

Robusticity in skeletal terms refers to the overall density and development of the bones relative to body size — the thickness of cortical bone, the prominence of muscle attachment sites, the overall impression of a skeleton that was built by sustained physical activity.

Robust skeletons indicate individuals whose muscles were regularly used at high intensity, and the Hourglass Cave man’s skeleton was robust in ways consistent with a life of significant physical demand.