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Determining Sex of the Posterior Ilium from the Robert J. Terry and William M. Bass Collections

NCJ Number
242036
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 57 Issue: 5 Dated: September 2012 Pages: 1155-1160
Author(s)
Lauren Novak, M.A.; John J. Schultz, Ph.D.; Matthew McIntyre, Ph.D.
Date Published
September 2012
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This study was designed to compare the classification correctness of standard scoring systems and measurements of the posterior ilium, including using logistic regression, to develop new formulae to predict sex.
Abstract
Morphological traits of the posterior ilium are commonly used for sex determination in bioarcheological and forensic skeletal analysis. This study was designed to compare the classification correctness of standard scoring systems and measurements of the posterior ilium, including using logistic regression, to develop new formulae to predict sex. Metric measurements and morphological scores for the preauricular sulcus (PS), the elevation of the auricular surface, and the greater sciatic notch width were recorded for 97 males and 101 females of both European and African ancestry from the William M. Bass and Terry Collections. Correct classification of sex was high using individual traits such as the greater sciatic notch score (88.4 percent), the presence or absence of a PS (78.8 percent), and the scoring of a present PS as 1, 2, or 3 (100 percent). Furthermore, an equation combining multiple traits of the posterior ilium had a high classification of 94.9 percent. Abstract published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons.