Cross sections of intracortical bone revealed differences among three early American populations--Eskimo, Arikara, and Pueblo--in the frequency of a form of remodeling called, here, type II. This remodeling appears to occur exclusively within the walls of haversian canals of well-mineralized osteons. The populations are known to have differed in their nutrition. The Eskimo, with a high-protein diet, exhibited the most frequent type II remodeling, whereas the Pueblo, with a low-protein diet, showed the least. Type II remodeling probably reflects the physiological state of the group. Variation in frequency of classic intracortical bone remodeling was not apparent.

The pelves of 100 black skeletons were measured on both sides for the following: (1) length from the superiormost aspect of the pubic symphysis to the nearest rim of the acetabulum (PS-A), (2) length from the highest point of the pubic tubercle to the nearest rim of the acetabulum (PT-A), (3) acetabular diameter (AD), (4) the vertical distance from the anterior aspect of the ischial tuberosity to the farthest rim of the acetabulum (IT-A), and (S) greatest femur head diameter. From these, three indices were derived: AD/PS-A (acetabulum/pubis index), AD/PT-A (acetabular diameter/pubic tubercle-acetabular rim index), and IT-A/PS-A (ischium-acetabulum height/pubic symphysis-acetabular rim index). The left AD/PS-A ratio and left IT-A height proved statistically to be of greatest discriminating value. Using these two variables, a discriminant function was derived which, followed by sorting with femur head diameter, accurately classified 97% of our sample. The acetabulum/pubis index alone with subsequent sorting by femur head diameter correctly assigned 96% of our sample. While this does not represent an improvement of predicatability over similar methods using the ischium/pubis index, measurements required for the acetabulum/pubis index are more easily defined and should, therefore, reduce the chance of observer error.

The pelves of 100 white skeletons were measured on both sides for the following: (1) length from the superiormost aspect of the public symphysis to the nearest rim of the acetabulum (PS-A), (2) length from the highest point of the public tubercle to the nearest rim of the acetabulum (PT-A), (3) acetabular diameter (AD), (4) the vertical distance from the anterior aspect of the ischial tuberosity to the farthest rim of the acetabulum (IT-A), and (5) greatest femur head diameter. From these, three indices were derived: AD/PS-A (acetabulum/pubis index), AD/PT-A (acetabular diameter/pubic tubercle-acetabular rim index), and IT-A/PS-A (ischium-acetabulum height/public symphysis-acetabular rim index). The left AD/PS-A ratio and left IT-A height proved statistically to be of greatest discriminating value. Using these two variables, a discriminant function was derived which correctly separated 98% of our sample. The acetabulum/pubis ratio alone correctly assigned 95%. With either the discriminant function analysis of two variables or the acetabulum/pubis index as a single predictor, 97% of our sample of known sex was correctly identified if all specimens that fell within a doubtful or overlapping range of values were sorted by femur head diameter.

No abstract

Techniques for accurately determining the sex of skeletal material are invaluable to workers concerned with the identification of human remains. Well-known methods that have been employed include traditional qualitative evaluations of morphological characteristics and statistical analyses of metrical data [1–10]. Some measurements have been found to be more valuable discriminators than others, showing that sexual dimorphism differs according to the measurements [11–15].