Sexual dimorphism of the humerus in contemporary Cretans--a population-specific study and a review of the literature*

J Forensic Sci. 2009 Sep;54(5):996-1000. doi: 10.1111/j.1556-4029.2009.01103.x. Epub 2009 Jul 13.

Abstract

Sex determination is the first essential step for positive identification when a decomposed body is recovered. Taking into consideration the population aspect of sexual dimorphism of the skeleton, the present study aimed to create a sex identification technique using osteometric standards, derived from a contemporary Cretan population. A total of 168 left humeri were measured according to standard osteometric techniques. The differences between the means in males and females were significant (p < 0.0005). About 92.3% of cases were correctly classified when all measurements were applied jointly. Stepwise procedure produced an accuracy rate of 92.9%. The most effective single dimension was vertical head diameter (89.9%). The current study provides standards for a population that has not been represented so far in the existing databases. It demonstrates that the humerus is an effective bone for the estimation of sex because even in a fragmentary state it can give high classification accuracy.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Discriminant Analysis
  • Ethnicity
  • Female
  • Forensic Anthropology / methods*
  • Greece
  • Humans
  • Humerus / anatomy & histology*
  • Male
  • Racial Groups
  • Sex Determination by Skeleton / methods*