Sex Estimation of the Human Skeleton
History, Methods, and Emerging Techniques
- 1st Edition - May 30, 2020
- Editor: Alexandra R. Klales
- Language: English
- Paperback ISBN:9 7 8 - 0 - 1 2 - 8 1 5 7 6 7 - 1
- eBook ISBN:9 7 8 - 0 - 1 2 - 8 1 5 7 6 8 - 8
Sex Estimation of the Human Skeleton is a comprehensive work on the theory, methods, and current issues for sexing human skeletal remains. This work provides practitio… Read more
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Request a sales quoteSex Estimation of the Human Skeleton is a comprehensive work on the theory, methods, and current issues for sexing human skeletal remains. This work provides practitioners a starting point for research and practice on sex estimation to assist with the identification and analysis of human remains. It contains a collection of the latest scientific research, using metric and morphological methods, and contains case studies, where relevant, to highlight methodological application to real cases. This volume presents a truly comprehensive representation of the current state of sex estimation while also detailing the history and how we got to this point.
Divided into three main sections, this reference text first provides an introduction to the book and to sex estimation overall, including a history, practitioner preferences, and a deeper understanding of biological sex. The second section addresses the main methodological areas used to estimate sex, including metric and morphological methods, statistical applications, and software. Each chapter topic provides a review of older techniques and emphasizes the latest research and methodological improvements. Chapters are written by practicing physical anthropologists and also include their latest research on the topics, as well as relevant case studies. The third section addresses current considerations and future directions for sex estimation in forensic and bioarchaeological contexts, including DNA, secular change, and medical imaging Sex Estimation of the Human Skeleton is a one-of-a-kind resource for those involved in estimating the sex of human skeletal remains.
- Provides the first comprehensive text reference on sex estimation, with historical perspectives and current best practices
- Contains real case studies to underscore key estimation concepts
- Demonstrates the changing role of technology in sex estimation
Primary: Forensic Anthropologists, as well as Students and Academicians in Forensic Anthropology, Human Osteology, and Skeletal Biology.Secondary: Physical Anthropologists, Bioarchaeologists, Skeletal Biologists, Pathologists, Death Investigators, and other Forensic Scientists.
- Cover image
- Title page
- Table of Contents
- Copyright
- Contributors
- About the contributors
- About the editor
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction to sex estimation and this volume
- Abstract
- Brief introduction to sex estimation
- Terminology
- Bone terminology
- Introduction to this book
- Conclusion
- Part 1: Introduction to sex estimation
- Chapter 1: A history of sex estimation of human skeletal remains
- Abstract
- Introduction
- History of human skeletal sex estimation
- Conclusion
- Chapter 2: Practitioner preferences for sex estimation from human skeletal remains
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Materials and methods
- Results
- Conclusion
- Chapter 3: Applications of sex estimation in paleoanthropology, bioarchaeology, and forensic anthropology
- Abstract
- Acknowledgment
- Introduction
- Skeletal sex estimation in paleoanthropology
- Skeletal sex estimation in bioarchaeology
- Skeletal sex estimation in forensic anthropology
- Conclusion
- Chapter 4: The confusion between biological sex and gender and potential implications of misinterpretations
- Abstract
- Defining sex
- Variations in sexual development
- Defining gender
- Why so much confusion?
- Implications in forensic and biological anthropology
- Conclusion
- Chapter 5: Effect of sex misclassification on the skeletal biological profile
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Sex and age estimation
- Sex and ancestry estimation
- Sex and stature estimation
- Positively identified forensic cases
- Conclusion
- Part 2: Methods for sex estimation
- Section A: Morphologica
- Chapter 6: Sex estimation using pelvis morphology
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Morphological pelvis traits
- Employing morphological pelvic traits in sex estimation
- Limitations of morphological methods
- Current trends
- Recommendations
- Conclusion
- Chapter 7: Adult sex estimation from cranial morphological traits
- Abstract
- Traditional morphological trait analyses
- Walker (2008) method validation
- Effects of other variables on cranial traits and sex estimation
- Applications of different methods
- Quantifying the traits
- Conclusion
- Chapter 8: Analyses of the postcranial skeleton for sex estimation
- Abstract
- Introduction and overview of sex estimation from the postcranium
- Sex-based differences in skeletal robusticity and rugosity
- Morphological postcranial sex estimation in practice
- Conclusion
- Chapter 9: Parturition markers and skeletal sex estimation
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Origins of dorsal pubic pitting and the preauricular sulcus/groove
- Diverse sample origins and biological profile accuracy
- Methodological concerns
- Untangling correlation and causality
- Metaanalysis: A quantitative approach to the current status of parturition scars
- Future research
- Conclusion
- Section B: Metric
- Chapter 10: Dentition in the estimation of sex
- Abstract
- Acknowledgments
- Dental development
- Primates and evolution
- Sexual dimorphism of dental morphology
- Sexual dimorphism of dental size
- Conclusions
- Chapter 11: Metric methods for estimating sex utilizing the pelvis
- Abstract
- Historical overview of metric methods
- Recent advances in metric methodology
- Case study
- Conclusion
- Chapter 12: Sexual dimorphism variation in Fordisc samples
- Abstract
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Craniometric sexual dimorphism
- Postcranial sexual dimorphism
- Conclusions
- Section C: Statistics & databases
- Chapter 13: Statistical approaches to sex estimation
- Abstract
- Introduction
- A review of statistical approaches to sex estimation
- Testing the Measurement-Statistics Controversy as related to sex estimation
- Conclusion
- Chapter 14: Subadult sex estimation and KidStats
- Abstract
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Complex underpinnings of sexual differentiation and sexual dimorphism
- Why does the pedagogical mantra exist?
- Reconsideration of previous subadult sex research
- Factors impacting sex estimation
- Software for performing subadult sex estimation: KidStats
- Conclusion
- Chapter 15: DSP: A probabilistic approach to sex estimation free from population specificity using innominate measurements
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Material and methods
- Results
- Discussion and conclusions
- Chapter 16: MorphoPASSE: Morphological pelvis and skull sex estimation program
- Abstract
- Acknowledgments
- Background and rationale
- About MorphoPASSE
- Scoring procedures
- Statistical options
- Interface
- Conclusion
- Part 3: Current considerations
- Chapter 17: Factors of population variation in sex estimation methodology
- Abstract
- Regional variation of human growth patterns
- Skeletal sexual dimorphism
- Discussion
- Conclusion
- Chapter 18: Secular change
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Evidence of secular change
- Implications for estimating sex from skeletal data
- Conclusion
- Chapter 19: The effects of skeletal asymmetry on accurate sex classification
- Abstract
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Defining asymmetry
- Asymmetry from the lens of forensic anthropology and bioarchaeology
- Further explorations of pelvic asymmetry
- Conclusion
- Chapter 20: Cognitive bias in sex estimation: The influence of context on forensic decision-making
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Human cognition and cognitive bias
- Cognitive bias and forensic anthropology
- Future directions
- Conclusion
- Chapter 21: Sex determination using DNA and its impact on biological anthropology
- Abstract
- Introduction
- DNA extraction from skeletal material
- Impacts of DNA-based sex determination on the field of biological anthropology
- Impacts of DNA-based sex determination on forensic anthropological casework
- Conclusion
- Legal disclaimer
- Chapter 22: The application of medical imaging to the anthropological estimation of sex
- Abstract
- Use of medical imaging in anthropological estimations of sex
- X-rays
- Computed tomography
- Magnetic resonance imaging
- Limitations
- Conclusion
- Index
- No. of pages: 424
- Language: English
- Edition: 1
- Published: May 30, 2020
- Imprint: Academic Press
- Paperback ISBN: 9780128157671
- eBook ISBN: 9780128157688
AK
Alexandra R. Klales
Dr. Alexandra R. Klales is Director of the Forensic Anthropology Program and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology & Anthropology at Washburn University. She currently conducts forensic anthropological casework in Kansas and is working towards board certification. She is currently an Associate Member of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (Anthropology section). Her research includes improving biological profile methods, fatal fire recoveries, 3D imaging, and statistical methods in forensic anthropology. She is currently PI (sex estimation database) and Co-PI (sub-adult sex and age estimation) on two National Institute of Justice Grants examining sex estimation and the biological profile. She teaches courses on forensic science, forensic anthropology, and human skeletal biology.
Affiliations and expertise
Director, Forensic Anthropology Program, Washburn University, Topeka, Kansas, USARead Sex Estimation of the Human Skeleton on ScienceDirect