Age effect in the morphological traits performance for sex determination in human skulls and mandibles

Abstract

In this study we tested the hypothesis that diagnostic performance of the morphological indicators for sexual dimorphism are reduced as they are applied in skull and mandibles of older subjects. We used 275 adult human skulls, 250 of these with mandible, all subjects with sex and age registry. Sixteen classic morphological indicators of sexual dimorphism were evaluated, this information was compared with the registry and results noted in terms of precision. The best general performance of morphological indicators of sexual dimorphism were recorded in the 31 - 40 and 61 - 70 years, age range groups. Lowest precision ws recorded in the group corresponding to subjects between 21 - 30 years. Our results do not support the proposed hypothesis and suggest a progressive and cumulative effect of factors that determine dimorphism expression.