Ancestry and Sex Estimation

Ancestry and Sex Estimation
Using bones for identification
 Establishing whether remains are human or not
 Estimating the MNI
 Ancestry estimation
 Sex estimation
 Age estimation
 Stature estimation
Ancestry
Main groups:
 White = Caucasian/ European descent
 Asian = Mongoloid
 Black = Negroid/Sub-Saharan African descent
Subgroups:
 Hispanic
 Native American
 Australoid
Ancestry determination is very difficult due to:
 Intermarriage
 Physical trait differences become less prominent and harder
to distinguish
 Migration
 Population vs. individual variation
Anthroposcopic ancestry markers:
Skull
Face:
 Shape of eye sockets
 Face width
Nose:
 Nasal spine
 Nose shape (nasal index)
Vault
 Brow ridges
 Muscle markers
Jaw and teeth
 Prognathism (protrusion of the jaw)
 Palatal shape
Sex estimation