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Accepted Paper:

Sex estimation and posterior probabilities: the example of the tibia  
Elena Kranioti (University of Edinburgh)

Paper short abstract:

Sex estimation from unidentified incomplete skeletal remains is often based on mathematic equations produced by Discriminant Function Analysis of metric data. This paper examines the accuracy and reliability of discriminant functions and the importance of population specific standards in forensic casework.

Paper long abstract:

Sex estimation constitutes the cornerstone of positive identification of human remains in the absence of facial tissue and fingerprints as it narrows down the possible matches to 50%. The necessity for population specific standards in sex estimation of unknown skeletal remains has long been acknowledged however the lack of population specific standards in most parts of the world due to political, religious and/or other restrictions forces forensic anthropology casework to rely on the closest available population standards. What is the extent of error that can be anticipated when using biometric standards from neighbour populations in routine forensic practise? How reliable are the estimates that are brought by the Experts in the courtroom? To explore this question, 3 standard measurements of the tibia -a known dimorphic bone of the human skeleton- from 3 modern South European populations (Spanish, Italian and Greeks) are analysed using Discriminant Function Analysis. Posterior probabilities are calculated to evaluate the reliability of the produced formulae for each population and the pooled sample for each individual case.

Panel P09
Forensic anthropology and its global impact on society
  Session 1