[5] It developed into a list of all supercentenarians whose lifespan had been verified by at least three documents, in a standardized process, according to the norms of modern longevity research.
In numerous editions from the 1960s through the 1980s, Guinness stated thatNo single subject is more obscured by vanity, deceit, falsehood, and deliberate fraud than the extremes of human longevity.
[8] In another case, Lucy Hannah, previously regarded as having reached age 117, had her verification removed in 2020 following the discovery of additional documents.
Actuary Walter G. Bowerman stated that ill-founded longevity assertions originate mainly in remote, underdeveloped regions, among non-literate peoples, with only family testimony available as evidence.
Because age inflation often occurs in adulthood (to avoid military service or to apply for a pension early), or because the government may have begun record-keeping during an individual's lifetime, some cases are unverified by proximate[clarification needed] records.
[14][15] This test does not prove a person's age, but does winnow out typical pension-claim longevity exaggerations and spontaneous claims that a certain relative is over 150.
These are standardized lists of people whose lifespans remain unverified by proximate records, including both modern (Guinness-era) and historical cases.
All cases in which an individual's supercentenarian lifespan is not (yet) backed by records sufficient to the standards of modern longevity research are listed as unverified.