Assessing methods for estimating biological sex from subadult skeletal elements

Author

Dorota Zabnicka, Humboldt State UniversityFollow

Graduation Date

Fall 2020

Document Type

Thesis

Program

Master of Arts degree with a major in Applied Anthropology

Committee Chair Name

Marissa Ramsier

Committee Chair Affiliation

HSU Faculty or Staff

Second Committee Member Name

Ariel Gruenthal-Rankin

Third Committee Member Name

Mary Glenn

Keywords

Anthropology, Skeleton, Forensic anthropology, Bioarchaeology, Subadult, Sex estimation, Nonadult, Juvenile, Sex estimation methods

Subject Categories

Anthropology

Abstract

While methods for estimating the sex of adult skeletons are relatively accurate, these methods are often inconclusive when applied to subadults (non-adults), especially when many secondary sexual characteristics have not fully developed. Furthermore, existing methods for subadults are often tested on samples with relatively homogenous ancestries, calling into question their reliability in more diverse populations. This thesis reviewed techniques for estimating sex in subadult skeletal remains, and the most promising methods were retested on individuals of known sex between ages 3 and 17 years (n=39, 14 males, 25 females) from the Hamann-Todd Osteological Collection. Data collection included measurements of the dentition, skull, long bones (i.e., humerus, radius, ulna, femur, tibia, and fibula), ilium, talus, and calcaneus. Non-metric assessment included observations of the eye orbits, mandible, and ilium. For metric methods, the highest level of accuracy was achieved by multivariate analysis of craniometrics (p=0.001, 100.0%), a multivariate analysis of the medial, distal, and mid-shaft breadths (p =0.0004, r =0.94, 95.5% accuracy), a univariate analysis of the distal breadths of the long bones (p =0.0002, r =0.83, 95.8%), and the mesiodistal dimension of the deciduous left lateral incisor (p =0.02, r =0.81, 73.3%). For non-metric methods, the highest level of statistical accuracy was from the protrusion of the chin (64.9%). Factors contributing to inconclusive results include small sample sizes and overlapping data points between the sexes. Therefore, recommendations are to re-evaluate whether binary dichotomization of sex in the subadult skeleton actually reflects the biological reality, to refine and redefine methods of assessment (e.g., reflecting a scale in variation), and continue testing the methods on larger more diverse sample populations with various methods of analysis.

Citation Style

APA

Recommended Citation

Zabnicka, Dorota, "Assessing methods for estimating biological sex from subadult skeletal elements" (2020). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 452.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/452