Sex estimation of the subadult ilium prior to acetabular fusion

Abstract

Previous studies evaluating sexual dimorphism in subadult pelvic features present variable, and at times conflicting, conclusions. As a result, there is yet to be a consensus on whether the subadult pelvis can be used in sex estimation methods. This study aims to assess the forensic utility of ilium shape and greater sciatic notch morphology in sexing subadult pelves prior to acetabular fusion. A sample of 397 modern U.S. individuals with unfused acetabula (i.e., tri-radiate cartilages) aged birth to 14 years was queried from a larger sample of postmortem computed tomography scans. Elliptical Fourier analyses were performed on ilium and greater sciatic notch outlines and resultant PCs were evaluated for significant effects of sex and age. Greater sciatic notch metrics were also collected. Stepwise linear discriminant function analyses with leaveone-out cross-validation were performed on the PCs and metric variables. Analyses were performed on pooled samples, on age-specific cohort samples, and on samples that iteratively removed the youngest one-year cohort. Cross-validated correct classification rates ranged from 57% to 65% and no patterns were observed to support an appearance and/or consistent expression of sexually diagnostic traits. Based on the results, sex estimation using these features is not recommended in pelvic remains prior to acetabular fusion, although the sample sizes of individuals over 5 years of age were limited in this study. Future studies should focus on the sexually diagnostic ability of pelvic traits in subadult samples post-fusion of the acetabulum.

The talus of the pre‐Hispanic population from Punta Azul (El Hierro, Canary Islands): Variability and sexual dimorphism of nonmetric traits

“…In any cases, the discriminant function allows the accurate sex estimation of the majority of the total sample (approximately 65%, a proportion that rises to 73% if we consider only the bones without taphonomic alterations) using only width measurements. This figure is intermediate among those yielded by discriminant functions performed on long bones, and those performed on other bones, such as subadult iliac bones, with an accuracy ranging between 57% and 65% (Garvin et al, 2021). This discriminant function, the first performed on tali of the pre-Hispanic population of the Canaries, can be applied to other populations from the island of El Hierro and possibly to others from the archipelago.…”

Sex estimation research trends in forensic anthropology between 2000 and 2022 in five prominent journals

“…Studies that utilized bones of the hands and feet were also metric in focus, utilizing linear measurements from elements such as the carpals, tarsals, metacarpals, and metatarsals [68][69][70][71][72]. Articles on sex estimation from the subadult skeleton largely focused on the skull, os coxae, and long bones [73][74][75][76], as these are the regions commonly utilized for sex estimation in adults. Further, research on sex estimation from the subadult skeleton is still limited, as only 54 articles examined the subadult skeleton in these five journals over the last two decades.…”

Twenty‐first century bioarchaeology: Taking stock and moving forward

“…The persistently elusive goal of accurate biological sex determinations in juveniles appears imminently achievable through minimally invasive proteomic procedures (Buonasera et al, 2020; Gowland et al, 2021; Parker et al, 2019; Stewart et al, 2017; Ziganshin et al, 2020) and genetic analyses (Mittnik et al, 2016; Skoglund et al, 2013). Efforts to improve macroscopic approaches to sex estimation in juveniles also continue (e.g., Garvin et al, 2021; Stull et al, 2017).…”