Evaluation of the auricular surface method for subadult sex estimation on Italian modern (19th to 20th century) identified skeletal collections (original) (raw)
Related papers
International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 2017
Sex estimation in non-adult skeletons is crucial in bioarchaeology and forensic anthropology. It was not extensively considered in the past, mainly because it was stated that the dimorphic osteological features were difficult to identify before adulthood. Over the past few years, this statement was disproved, and the study of numerous dimorphic non-adult skeletal traits was approached. This paper presents a new methodology that evaluates the auricular surface of the non-adult ilia. Several morphological and continuous variables were recorded for 34 individuals (21 females and 13 males) aged between 7 and 18 from the Coimbra Identified Skeletons Collection (University of Coimbra, Portugal). The results show low intra and inter-observer errors for all the variables, which renders the methodology replicable. Two ratios related to the shape of the anterior area of the auricular surface offer the most dimorphic data (proportions of cases correctly assigned: 0.82 and 0.88; sexual allocation probabilities: 0.85 for both variables). A discriminant function and a logistic regression were developed, which correctly classified the 82.35 and the 88.23% of the individuals, respectively. Moreover, two qualitative variables, referred to as the overall morphology and the apex morphology, also show statistically significant differences between males and females (proportions of correct assignation: 0.82 and 0.76; sexual allocation probabilities: 0.79 and 0.76). These variables can be incorporated in a multifactorial approach together with other indicators already available in the specialised literature in order to help improve the accuracy of the results obtained. This methodological procedure has to be applied with other identified samples, including younger individuals, so as to test whether the trends presented in this context are maintained and are useful in populations from a different geographical provenience.
Forensic science international, 2008
Although the assignment of sex to immature skeletal remains is considered problematic, some traits have been considered useful for both forensic and bioarchaeological applications. One such trait is the arch criterion found in subadult ilia, which is defined relative to the greater sciatic notch-auricular surface area. In adults, the composite arch has also been described in relation to this area and has proven relatively successful in sex determination. This study offers an examination of the accuracy of the arch criterion and the composite arch in determining the sex of subadult skeletal remains, and an assessment of intra-and inter-observer scoring error. A sample of 97 skeletons of known sex and age (<15 years) from the Lisbon collection (Portugal) were selected and the traits were scored by three observers on orthogonal photos of each ilium. In general the agreement within (67.7-88.5%) and between (50.5-76.3%) examiners was poor and overall accuracy (26.7-52.6%) did not meet the expectations of that reported in previous studies. The authors suggest that this derives from great variation in morphology, difficulties in interpreting criteria and possibly a lack of association between the expression of the traits and sex. Careful examination of sex-related morphology in the immature skeleton and additional blind tests of so-called useful traits should continue to be carried out. #
International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 2017
Sex estimation in non-adult skeletons is crucial in bioarchaeology and forensic anthropology. It was not extensively considered in the past, mainly because it was stated that the dimorphic osteological features were difficult to identify before adulthood. Over the past few years, this statement was disproved, and the study of numerous dimorphic non-adult skeletal traits was approached. This paper presents a new methodology that evaluates the auricular surface of the non-adult ilia. Several morphological and continuous variables were recorded for 34 individuals (21 females and 13 males) aged between 7 and 18 from the Coimbra Identified Skeletons Collection (University of Coimbra, Portugal). The results show low intra and inter-observer errors for all the variables, which renders the methodology replicable. Two ratios related to the shape of the anterior area of the auricular surface offer the most dimorphic data (proportions of cases correctly assigned: 0.82 and 0.88; sexual allocation probabilities: 0.85 for both variables). A discriminant function and a logistic regression were developed, which correctly classified the 82.35 and the 88.23% of the individuals, respectively. Moreover, two qualitative variables, referred to as the overall morphology and the apex morphology, also show statistically significant differences between males and females (proportions of correct assignation: 0.82 and 0.76; sexual allocation probabilities: 0.79 and 0.76). These variables can be incorporated in a multifactorial approach together with other indicators already available in the specialised literature in order to help improve the accuracy of the results obtained. This methodological procedure has to be applied with other identified samples, including younger individuals, so as to test whether the trends presented in this context are maintained and are useful in populations from a different geographical provenience.
AN INVESTIGATION OF SEX DETERMINATION FROM THE SUBADULT PELVIS: A MORPHOMETRIC ANALYSIS
The pelvis, the most sexually dimorphic area of the adult human skeleton, is essential to determine biological sex. Although sex differences have been noted in subadult pelvic bones since the late 1800s, no reliable method has been developed to determine biological sex, and therefore, subadult sex demographics must be omitted from forensic and archaeological investigations. This study examined three North American skeletal samples of documented age and sex, the Forensic Fetal Osteological Collection (n=113), the subadult component of the Hamann-Todd Collection (n=37), and the Trotter Fetal Bone Collection (n=37), to test the hypothesis that subadult pelvic traits, both metric and non-metric, are sufficiently sexually dimorphic in one or more sample or age category. Method accuracy and reliability were also evaluated. Traits included those previously studied: the breadth and angle of the sciatic notch, iliac crest curvature, arch criterion, auricular surface elevation, subpubic angle, pubic length, and ischial length. Two additional feature analyses and three indices were developed for this study: the anterior and posterior sciatic notch lengths, pubic body width, pubic index, anterior/posterior sciatic notch, and sciatic notch width/iliac length index. Both left and right sides were considered using photographic and direct measurement techniques. For t-tests and correlations, at least one trait per sample reached statistically significant levels for sexual dimorphism. Reliable testing methods were not developed because these features were inconsistently sexually dimorphic for each sample; furthermore, male and female measurement ranges overlapped considerably, trait morphology proved variable, and individuals were incorrectly assigned to sex when using methods outlined in previous studies. Both logistic regression and discriminant function analysis provided low predictive scores, the highest at 0.68, which were insufficient to predict sex consistently or meet the Daubert threshold. Two non-metric traits, sciatic notch shape and auricular surface elevation, also proved to be inconsistent across the three samples. Consequently, these traits were unreliable for sex determination. Several features, including the sciatic notch width, sciatic notch shape, and pubic body width, demonstrated differences among older subadults and should be investigated using larger, broadly-aged samples that include adults.
Literature review: Determination of sex of juvenile skeletons
Paper for a BA course in Human Osteology Some researchers think that only the estimation of age at death can be determined with any degree of reliability from the juvenile skeleton (Holcomb and Konigsberg 1995, Scheuer and Black 2004, White and Folkens 2005:385), while others remain positive about the possibilities for the estimation of sex of the subadult skeleton (Hunt and Gleiser 1955, Garn et al. 1977, Black 1987, Weaver 1980, De Vito and Saunders 1990, Mittler et al. 1992, Schutkowski 1993, Molleson et al. 1998, Loth and Henneberg 2001, Sutter 2003, Cardoso and Saunders 2008, Wilson et al. 2010 and Veroni et al. 2011). This paper provides a review on most of the methods published on the determination of sex of juvenile skeletons.
Evaluations of sex assessment using weighted traits on incomplete skeletal remains
International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 2004
Several studies have presented a variety of sexually dimorphic traits on the skeleton offering possibilities to score these traits for sex determination. However, few have discussed how fragmentation of skeletons affects the reliability of the results, and how to assess sex attribution based on a variety of methods. In the present study sex was determined for 354 skeletons from the medieval Swedish town Sigtuna, using well-recognized sexing techniques on the pelvis, skull and femur. The preservation of the skeletons varied markedly, thus affecting possibilities for sex assessments. An attempt was made to evaluate the result of the sex assessment when weighting of different traits with different scales was used. The resulting estimation for each individual was called total mean value A. In addition, a total mean value B that considers unobservable missing traits was estimated. It can be concluded that both weighting and fragmentation affect sex assessments of incomplete skeletons. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
American journal of physical anthropology, 2018
This study investigated the use of sexually dimorphic metrics of the first permanent maxillary molar (M ) to determine sex in adult and immature individuals within and between populations. Ten M dimensions were measured in 91 adults (19-55 years) and 58 immatures (5-18 years) from two English populations, one of documented sex (Spitalfields crypt) and another of morphologically-assigned sex (Black Gate). Preliminary statistical analysis was undertaken to explore bilateral differences and variation by age and sex, followed by multivariate analyses to predict sex from dental metrics. Both cross-validated linear discriminant analysis and binary logistic regression predicted biological sex consistent with known sex in 94.6% of adults and 90.9% of immatures. When functions extracted from the Spitalfields data were used to assign sex to Black Gate adults, consistency with morphological sex varied from 83.3% to 57.7%. A new function developed on Black Gate resulted in only a 4.8% increase ...
International Journal of Legal Medicine, 2020
There are several metric and morphological methods available for sex estimation of skeletal remains, but their reliability and applicability depend on the sexual dimorphism of the remains as well as on the availability of preserved bones. Some studies showed that age-related changes on bones can cause misclassification of sex. The purpose of this study was to establish the reliability of pelvic morphological traits and metric methods of sex estimation on relatively old individuals from a modern Italian skeletal collection. The data for this study were obtained from 164 individuals of the Milano CAL skeletal collection and average age of the samples was 75 years. In the pelvic morphological method, the recalibrated regression formula of Klales and colleagues (2012), pre-auricular sulcus, and greater sciatic notch morphology were used for sex estimation. With regard to the metric method, 15 standard measurements from upper and lower limbs were analyzed for sexual dimorphism. The results showed that in pelvic morphological approach, the application of regression formula of the revised Klales and colleague formula (2017) resulted in 100% accuracy. Classification rates of metric methods vary from 75.19 to 90.73% with the maximum epiphyseal breadth of proximal tibia representing the most discriminant parameter. This study confirms that the effect of age on sex estimation methods is not substantial, and both metric and morphological methods of sex estimation can be reliably applied to individuals of Italian descent in middle and late adulthood.
International Journal of Legal Medicine , 2021
Non-adult sex estimation is an active field of forensic inquiry as morphological variations between males and females are subtle, but observable, even from intrauterine development. The objectives of this study are threefold: to test the validity of the auricular surface method for sex estimation (Int J Osteoarchaeol 27:898–911, 2017) in fetuses and children under the age of 5 years old; to evaluate if health conditions, reported as the cause of death, influence its accuracy; and to detect possible secular trends in sexual dimorphism. One-hundred and ninety-seven skeletal individuals from the Lisbon and Granada Identified Collections were studied. Individuals were divided according to the hormonal peaks (< 0, 0–2, < 2, and 2.1–5 years old), cause, and year of death (before and after 1960). As in previous studies, two ratios (FI/CF and DE/AD) and two qualitative variables (OM and MRS) showed the highest frequencies of correct estimation (0.81–0.86). The correct sex allocations increased when the discriminant function (0.85) and logistic regression (0.86) were applied.Males of the age groups < 0 and 2.1–5 years were all correctly sexed by both formulae, and the same was observed for the female probabilities of adequate allocation. The cause and year of death were identified as variables without statistical significance. It is proposed that this method can be incorporated with confidence into the multifactorial laboratory protocols for non-adult sex estimation from skeletal remains.
Sex assessment on the basis of long bone circumference
American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 2000
Discriminant functions have long been used to classify individuals into groups according to the dimensions of their bones. Although lengths, widths, and diameters have been extensively used, the circumferences have not been adequately validated. In this work, the importance that the circumferences of long bones can have in assigning the sex of ancient human remains is demonstrated. The functions produced by using just one circumference achieved accuracies higher than 80%, and circumference at the radial tuberosity of the radius is able to classify 92.8% of skeletons from the Late Roman site of Mas Rimbau/Mas Mallol (Spain). When functions are produced by using more than one circumference, they can achieve the uppermost classification attained in this sample. The functions also showed that the arm circumference functions are more useful than those of the leg, probably because male individuals of the population had greater mechanical stress than did females. The classification percentages, as well as other statistical values for the functions, demonstrated the great ability of long bone circumferences in helping to classify the sex of individuals of other sites of the Mediterranean area besides the ones examined in this study. Am J