Methodology and reliability of sex determination from the skeleton

Abstract

Once a body is completely decomposed, it is necessary to determine sex from the skeleton. The hip bone is the most reliable indicator for sex determination because the pattern of sexual dimorphism is common to the whole human race. Two reliable visual methods are suggested to assess sex from the hip bone. However, the authors recommend the use of a method based on discriminant function analysis including a probabilistic approach that the authors recently developed with a large sample of known-sex individuals. The population specificity of sexual dimorphism of the other parts of the skeleton is also discussed. The authors particularly insist on the inherent limits of discriminant functions on extrapelvic measurements. © 2006 Humana Press Inc.