Estimación del sexo a partir del diámetro de la cabeza humeral y femoral en poblaciones mexicanas de época prehispánica y contemporánea

In bioarchaeology and forensic anthropology the most reliable skeletal element for sex estimation is the pelvis; nevertheless, when it is missing, other postcranial elements must be used. The main goal of this research is to provide sectioning points for sex assessment from humeral and femoral head diameters for three prehispanic and two contemporary Mexican populations. Using a sliding caliper, a total of 386 (45.3% female and 54.6% male) humeral and femoral head diameters were recorded. The sectioning point was calculated as the mean between sexes, and univariate independent sample t-tests were performed to test significant differences between sexes. The results demonstrate significant sexual differences in all populations and high percentages of correct sex classification (90%-94%). We conclude that the proposed cut-off points can be used as an alternative for sex estimation in Mexican populations, in contexts with incomplete skeletons and/or fragmented bones.Tanto en bioarqueología como en antropología forense, la pelvis es el elemento óseo con mayor confiabilidad para la estimación sexual; no obstante, cuando no está presente, otros elementos deben ser utilizados. Es por ello que el objetivo principal de este trabajo es proveer puntos de corte para estimar el sexo a partir del diámetro de la cabeza del húmero y del fémur, en poblaciones mexicanas (tres prehispánicas y dos contemporáneas). Utilizando el compás de corredera, se midió un total de 386 (45,3% femeninos y 54.6% masculinos) diámetros de la cabeza humeral y femoral. Los resultados demuestran diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre sexos en todas las poblaciones y altos porcentajes de clasificación sexual correcta (90%-94%). Por lo tanto, concluimos que los puntos de corte propuestos pueden ser utilizados como una alternativa para la estimación sexual, para la población mexicana, en contextos con esqueletos incompletos y/o huesos fragmentados.Asociación de Antropología Biológica Argentin

Comparación de métodos para estimar estatura en restos óseos humanos

Tesis para optar por el grado de Licenciatura de Antropología Físic

Comparison of methods to determine sex by evaluating the greater sciatic notch: Visual, angular and geometric morphometrics

Sex estimation is the first step for biological profile reconstruction of an unknown skeleton (archaeological or contemporary) and consequently for positive identification of skeletal remains recovered from forensic settings. Several tools have been developed using different osseous structures. With the intention to provide an objective method comparison, we reported the analysis of three different methods (visual, metric and geometric morphometrics) for sex assessment of the greater sciatic notch. One hundred and thirty pelvic bones (45.4% females and 54.6% males) from the National Autonomous University of Mexico Skeletal Collection pertaining to the contemporary Mexican population were analyzed.We used the ROC-analysis to test between desired false positive thresholds (1-specificity) and expected true positive rates (sensitivity) in order to predict the best approach to sex assessment. The comparison of the area under the ROC-curves shows significant differences among visual and metric methods. At the same time, the analysis suggested that higher morphological variation among the sexes is independent of the methodological approach.The results indicate that the metric (angle), with a high percent of indeterminate cases (34.6%), and visual, with 26.2% of the cases allocated as intermediate cases, were poorly accurate; we cannot recommend these techniques for sexing an unknown specimen. On the other hand, the geometric morphometrics approach improves sex estimation in 82.3% of correctly classified individuals with more than 95% of posterior probability.In addition to the method comparison, the major sexual variation of the greater sciatic notch was determined to be located on its posterior border.Fil: Gómez Valdés, Jorge A.. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Quinto Sanchez, Mirsha Emmanuel. Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia; México. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Nacional Patagónico; ArgentinaFil: Menéndez Garmendia, Antinea. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Veleminska, Jana. Charles University; República ChecaFil: Sánchez Mejorada, Gabriela. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Bruzek, Jaroslav. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; México. Universite de Bordeaux; Franci