28067
Author
Dibennardo, Robert; Taylor, James V.
Author Affiliation
Lehman College of the City University of New York. Department of Anthropology. Metropolitan Forensic Anthropology Team
Title Of Article Chaper
Multiple discriminant function analysis of sex and race in the postcranial skeleton
Title Of Journal Book
American journal of physical anthropology
Volume
61
Issue
3
Pages
305-314
Collation
2 figs., 7 tables
Reference Bibliography
refs.
ISSN
0002-9483
Language Of Text
English
Language Of Summary
English
Literature Type
Serial
Literature Level
Analytic
Abstract
Terry Collection femora and innominates of 260 American whites and blacks (65 males and 65 females of each race) were analyzed by multiple discriminant function analysis. A stepwise procedure produced three optimal discriminant functions using 15 of our 32 measurements. These functions correctly identified 95% of the sample. The first twomone for sex and one for racemare statistically and biologically significant and form the basis of our analysis. The sexing function manifested both size and shape elements. Prominent among the former was joint sizemacetabular diameter and epicondylar diameter of the femur. The shape elements included form of the greater sciatic notch and of the inferomedial aspect of the pubic body. The racing function highlighted a pattern of greater innominate dimensions, exclusive of the acetabular joint, in whites. This was in contrast to the greater length of the black femur. Overall, the function seems to express the established differences between the races in the ratio of lower limb length to torso length. While these functions have been applied successfully to forensic cases with confirmed identifications, questions regarding the breadth of applicability of discriminant functions make it desirable to validate our results on new material from the Terry and other collections.
Keywords
discriminant analysis;sex;skeleton;race;measurement;statistics; forensics;identification
pub_id
28067