Contribution
Sexual dimorphism in base of skull
Amores-Ampuero, Anabel
Anthropologischer Anzeiger Volume 74 No. 1 (2017), p. 9 - 14
publié: Apr 1, 2017
publication en ligne: Jan 26, 2017
manuscrit accepté: Sep 12, 2016
revision du manuscrit reçu: Sep 7, 2016
révision du manuscrit demandée: May 25, 2016
manuscrit reçu: Jul 20, 2015
DOI: 10.1127/anthranz/2017/0603
ArtNo. ESP140007401001, Prix: 29.00 €
Abstract
Abstract Sex determination is an important task in forensic medicine and physical anthropology. The aims of this study were to assess the presence of sexual dimorphism in the base of the skull and to compare the accuracy of sex estimation by this method with that achieved in other metric studies of this region. The sample comprised 109 individuals (53 males and 56 females) of known sex, age, and cause of death from San José cemetery in Granada (Spain). Six dimensions were analyzed and discriminant function analysis was performed. The discriminant capacity of the selected variables was then evaluated by using a cross-validation procedure. All dimensions were significantly higher in males than in females. The percentage accuracy was 75.7% (77.8% for males and 73.7% for females). Highest dimorphic values were for occipital condyle length and foramen magnum width. Skull base measurements should only serve to corroborate findings.
Mots-clefs
forensic anthropology • sexual dimorphism • discriminant function analysis • foramen magnum • occipital condyles • skull base