NCJ Number
234660
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 56 Issue: 3 Dated: May 2011 Pages: 710-714
Date Published
May 2011
Length
5 pages
Annotation
The successful identification of human skeletal remains relies on proven diagnostic techniques for sex determination. This research utilized 608 individuals from South Africa (420 men, 188 women) to conduct a blind nonmetric determination of sex from three features of the distal humerus: olecranon fossa shape, angle of the medial epicondyle, and trochlear extension.
Abstract
A scoring system between males and females was implemented, and the aggregate score of the three features determined the estimated sex of the skeletal element in question. With all features combined, Black and White South Africans were categorized successfully as either male or female 75.5 percent (77 percent accuracy rate for females, 74 percent accuracy rate for males). This classification rate is lower than what was found in previous studies, but suggests that characteristics of the distal humerus are still quite valuable when estimating skeletal sex. More research is needed to assess reasons for the differential expression of these traits in different populations and to determine whether the method is nonpopulation specific. (Published Abstract)