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Evaluating the Accuracy and Precision of Cranial Morphological Traits for Sex Determination
Author(s) -
Williams Brenda A.,
Rogers Tracy L.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of forensic sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.715
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1556-4029
pISSN - 0022-1198
DOI - 10.1111/j.1556-4029.2006.00177.x
Subject(s) - crania , forensic anthropology , skull , craniofacial , accuracy and precision , biology , orthodontics , statistics , mathematics , anatomy , medicine , geography , archaeology , genetics
Sex determination is a key analysis that forensic anthropologists perform in order to construct a biological profile of human remains. The techniques used in forensic investigations must meet the Mohan or Daubert criteria, for admissibility in a court of law. In this study, the precision and accuracy of 21 morphological characteristics of the skull were tested on a modern sample of 50 adult crania of European White ancestry. The following craniofacial features are identified as high‐quality traits, defined by intraobserver error ≤10% and accuracy ≥80%: mastoid size, supraorbital ridge size, general size and architecture, rugosity of the zygomatic extension, size and shape of the nasal aperture, and gonial angle. Ninety‐six percent accuracy and 92% precision were achieved using 20 traits in combination. Fisher's exact probability tests revealed no significant differences ( p =0.05) in the levels of precision or accuracy between age categories. Sex‐related bias in accuracy was found for the following cranial features: ramus symphysis ( p =0.009), zygomatic extension ( p =0.0016), and occipital markings ( p =0.0013). These traits demonstrated a greater tendency to be scored male than female.