An evaluation of the methods used in the estimation of sex
Sex estimation is a fundamental component of demographic information for skeletal collections. When collections are undocumented, it is important to have established and accurate methods to determine sex. Many methods have been used since the 1800s. These methods, both morphological and metric, primarily focus on estimating sex on the pelvis, cranium, mandible, humerus and femur. The aim of this research is to establish which types of methods and which major bones are the most accurate for identifying sex in skeletons, especially when the pelvis is in poor condition or missing. A total of 67 morphological and metric methods were assessed on 294 adults from four diverse known sex samples. The study included assessment of 23 methods on 120 juveniles from two of the samples. The results indicate that while morphological methods are a reliable tool to sex adult skeletons, there are metric methods that are equally reliable, especially in the absence of the pelvis. Initial research in sex estimation of juveniles yielded several methods which scored over 75% accuracy when the samples were broken down into five distinct age groups. The study also demonstrated other possible uses for sex estimation, such as measuring
Harrison, Donna
An evaluation of the methods used in the estimation of sex. Sex estimation is a fundamental component of demographic information for skeletal collections. When collections are undocumented, it is important to have established and accurate methods to determine sex. Many methods have been used since the 1800s. These methods, both morphological and metric, primarily focus on estimating sex on the pelvis, cranium, mandible, humerus and femur. The aim of this research is to establish which types of methods and which major bones are the most accurate for identifying sex in skeletons, especially when the pelvis is in poor condition or missing. A total of 67 morphological and metric methods were assessed on 294 adults from four diverse known sex samples. The study included assessment of 23 methods on 120 juveniles from two of the samples. The results indicate that while morphological methods are a reliable tool to sex adult skeletons, there are metric methods that are equally reliable, especially in the absence of the pelvis. Initial research in sex estimation of juveniles yielded several methods which scored over 75% accuracy when the samples were broken down into five distinct age groups. The study also demonstrated other possible uses for sex estimation, such as measuring
evaluation method_use estimation sex sex estimation fundamental component demographic information skeletal_collection collection undocumented important establish accurate method determine sex many method_use since method morphological metric primarily_focus estimate sex humerus femur aim_establish type method major bone accurate identify sex skeleton especially poor condition miss total morphological metric method assess adult diverse know sex sample study include assessment method juvenile sample indicate morphological method reliable tool sex adult_skeleton metric method equally reliable especially absence initial sex estimation juvenile yield several method score accuracy sample break distinct age_group study also_demonstrate possible sex estimation measure