Sex determination is the keystone of a biological profile, yet few qualitative methods of cranial sex determination have been tested. This analysis examines the accuracy and precision of 17 morphological features of the skull commonly used to determine the sex of unknown skeletal remains. The sample consists of 46 identified skulls from the 19th century St. Thomas' Anglican Church Cemetery in Belleville, Canada. Nasal aperature, zygomatic extension, malar size/rugosity, and supraorbital ridge proved the most useful; of secondary value are chin form and nuchal crest; mastoid size is of tertiary consideration; nasal size and mandibular symphysis/ramus size rank fourth; forehead shape ranks fifth; and palate size/shape are sixth. Skull size/architecture provides an internal standard to assess the relative sizes of other traits. This research is a necessary step in establishing the credibility of morphological sex determination with respect to the Daubert and Mohan criteria for admissibility in a court of law.
Sex determination is a key analysis that forensic anthropologists perform in order to construct a biological profile of human remains. The techniques used in forensic investigations must meet the Mohan or Daubert criteria, for admissibility in a court of law. In this study, the precision and accuracy of 21 morphological characteristics of the skull were tested on a modern sample of 50 adult crania of European White ancestry. The following craniofacial features are identified as high-quality traits, defined by intraobserver error or=80%: mastoid size, supraorbital ridge size, general size and architecture, rugosity of the zygomatic extension, size and shape of the nasal aperture, and gonial angle. Ninety-six percent accuracy and 92% precision were achieved using 20 traits in combination. Fisher's exact probability tests revealed no significant differences (p=0.05) in the levels of precision or accuracy between age categories. Sex-related bias in accuracy was found for the following cranial features: ramus symphysis (p=0.009), zygomatic extension (p=0.0016), and occipital markings (p=0.0013). These traits demonstrated a greater tendency to be scored male than female.
This study introduces a new method of determining sex based on four morphological features of the posterior, distal humerus. The technique was developed on a 20th century anatomy series, the University of Toronto Grant Skeletal Collection, and was tested on 35 known individuals from the University of New Mexico Documented Collection and 93 individuals from the William M. Bass Donated Skeletal Collection. Four statistically significant characteristics relating to the carrying angle of the arm are identified (p < 0.05). Together, they are capable of determining sex with 92% accuracy.
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