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Biological sex and tympanic dehiscence
Author(s) -
Bilal Alina Susana,
Jelaca-Tavakoli Maria
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.26.1_supplement.721.2
Subject(s) - crania , dehiscence , medicine , anatomy , surgery
In this study, the presence of tympanic dehiscence is studied using 72 trephined Peruvian crania (39 male and 33 female) from the Hrdlicka Collection housed at the San Diego Museum of Man. The objective of this study is to determine whether tympanic dehiscence alone could be used to determine sex in human osteological remains. The analysis of the tympanic plates shows that 41 or 57% of the 72 crania have the trait. From the 41 crania with tympanic dehiscence, 19 are male and 22 are female or 46% and 54% respectively, suggesting that tympanic dehiscence is more likely to occur in females. However, because of the significant number of males possessing the trait, tympanic dehiscence cannot be used alone as a reliable sex‐determining feature. Therefore, it is suggested that for accurate results, anatomists and biological anthropologists should only use tympanic dehiscence to determine sex if it is used in collaboration with other skeletal features. San Diego Museum of Man.Grant Funding Source : N/A