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Francis S, Makoviychuck Y, Chavoinik L, Borgel S, Pokhojaev A, Roul V, Peled N, May H. A new method for sex estimation based on femoral cross-sectional geometry measurements and its validation using recent and ancient populations. Int J Legal Med 2023:10.1007/s00414-023-03009-x. [PMID: 37148346 DOI: 10.1007/s00414-023-03009-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2022] [Accepted: 04/24/2023] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
Estimating sex is a fundamental task in biological and forensic anthropology. This study aimed to develop new methods for sex estimation based on femoral cross-sectional geometry (CSG) variables and to test their applicability in recent and ancient assemblages. The sample was divided into a study group (living individuals, N = 124) for creating sex prediction equations and two test groups: living individuals (N = 31) and prehistoric individuals (N = 34). The prehistoric sample was divided into three subgroups according to subsistence strategy (hunter-gatherers, early farmers that also hunted, and farmers and herders). Femoral CSG variables (size, strength, and shape) were measured from CT images using dedicated software. Discriminant functions for sex estimation were calculated for various bone completeness scenarios and validated using the test groups. Size and strength parameters were sexually dimorphic, while shape was not. Discriminant functions for sex estimation produced success rates in the living sample between 83.9 and 93.5%; the distal shaft yielded the highest results. Success rates were lower among the prehistoric test sample, with better results (83.3%) for the mid-Holocene population (farmers and herders) than for earlier groups (e.g., hunter-gatherers; < 60%). These results were compared with those obtained using other methods for sex estimation based on various skeletal elements. This study provides new, reliable, and simple methods with high success rates for sex estimation based on femoral CSG variables obtained automatically from CT images. Discriminant functions were created for various conditions of femoral completeness. However, these functions should be used carefully in past populations from different settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel Francis
- Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, 6997801, Tel Aviv, Israel
- The Shmunis Family Anthropology Institute, the Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Bio-History Research, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, 6997801, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Yulia Makoviychuck
- Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, 6997801, Tel Aviv, Israel
- The Shmunis Family Anthropology Institute, the Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Bio-History Research, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, 6997801, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Liron Chavoinik
- Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, 6997801, Tel Aviv, Israel
- The Shmunis Family Anthropology Institute, the Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Bio-History Research, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, 6997801, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Sarah Borgel
- Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, 6997801, Tel Aviv, Israel
- The Shmunis Family Anthropology Institute, the Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Bio-History Research, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, 6997801, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Ariel Pokhojaev
- Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, 6997801, Tel Aviv, Israel
- The Shmunis Family Anthropology Institute, the Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Bio-History Research, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, 6997801, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Department of Oral Biology, The Maurice and Gabriela Goldschleger School of Dental Medicine, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, 6997801, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Victoria Roul
- Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, 6997801, Tel Aviv, Israel
- The Shmunis Family Anthropology Institute, the Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Bio-History Research, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, 6997801, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Nathan Peled
- Radiology Department, Elisha Hospital, 3463626, Haifa, Israel
| | - Hila May
- Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, 6997801, Tel Aviv, Israel.
- The Shmunis Family Anthropology Institute, the Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Bio-History Research, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, 6997801, Tel Aviv, Israel.
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Temple DH, Rosa ER, Hunt DR, Ruff CB. Adapting in the Arctic: Habitual activity and landscape interaction in Late Holocene hunter-gatherers from Alaska. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2021; 176:3-20. [PMID: 33782942 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2020] [Revised: 01/11/2021] [Accepted: 01/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES This study compares lower limb diaphyseal robusticity between Native Alaskan hunter-gatherers to reconstruct patterns of mobility and engagement with terrain. MATERIALS AND METHODS Ancestral remains included in this study date between 600 and 1800 C.E. and were divided into three regions: Coastal Bay, Far North Coastal, and Inland/Riverine. Cross-sectional properties were determined at femoral and tibial midshafts and standardized by powers of body mass and bone length. RESULTS Consistently elaevated areas and second moments of area were found in ancestral remains from the Far North Coastal, while the Coastal Bay remains had reduced diaphyseal robusticity. Individuals from the Inland/Riverine region were intermediate in robusticity for male femora, but similar to the Coastal Bay group for females. Sexual dimorphism was greatest in the Inland/Riverine ancestral remains and comparable between Coastal Bay and Far North Coastal regions. CONCLUSIONS Ancestral remains from the Far North Coastal region have the greatest diaphyseal robusticity in response to intensive hunting and travel over rugged terrain. Reduced sexual dimorphism in the Far North Coastal region suggest female participation in hunting activities. Intermediate diaphyseal robusticity among Inland/Riverine males and increased sexual dimorphism reflects diverse patterns of mobility in relation to the hunting cycle between males and females. Reduced diaphyseal robusticity and sexual dimorphism among the Coastal Bay group is associated with sedentary villages established around net fishing in regions with low relief. Such findings argue against technocentric views of sedentism in hunter-gatherer lifeways and generally reflect diverse adaptive strategies and interaction with local terrain among Indigenous Late Holocene hunter-gatherers of Alaska.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel H Temple
- Department of Sociology and Anthropology, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, USA
| | - Emily R Rosa
- Department of Sociology and Anthropology, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, USA
| | - David R Hunt
- National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | - Christopher B Ruff
- Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
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Hill EC, Pearson OM, Durband AC, Walshe K, Carlson KJ, Grine FE. An examination of the cross‐sectional geometrical properties of the long bone diaphyses of Holocene foragers from Roonka, South Australia. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2020; 172:682-697. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2019] [Revised: 12/28/2019] [Accepted: 01/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ethan C. Hill
- Department of AnthropologyUniversity of New Mexico Albuquerque New Mexico
| | - Osbjorn M. Pearson
- Department of AnthropologyUniversity of New Mexico Albuquerque New Mexico
| | - Arthur C. Durband
- Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social WorkTexas Tech University Lubbock Texas
| | - Keryn Walshe
- College of Humanities, Flinders University Bedford Park Australia
| | - Kristian J. Carlson
- Department of Integrative Anatomical Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California Los Angeles California
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg South Africa
| | - Frederick E. Grine
- Departmentof Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook New York
- Departmentof Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook New York
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