Abstract

Sex determination in human skeletal remains is difficult under the most ideal circumstances; however, in juvenile skeletal remains it is nearly impossible. Currently no accepted techniques exist to identify the biological sex of the juvenile skeleton, other than, when possible, DNA. Thus, developing an accessible and non-destructive technique would benefit both the field of Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology. The ability to provide a quick and accurate determination of sex would greatly expedite the identification process in any case where juvenile skeletal remains are involved. This project aims to establish an accessible and non-destructive method for determining the sex of juvenile skeletal remains using deciduous (primary/baby) dentition. This research is focused on the deciduous dentition as they form early during growth and development, and previous research has demonstrated that secondary (adult) dentition exhibit sexual dimorphism. Samples of known sex individuals (n= 12: 7 female, 5 male, 45 total teeth) have been collected by donation. Using a novel approach, physical and radiograph, measurements of overall tooth and internal structure dimensions were completed on all samples. Comparative statistical analyses are used to determine if significant sexual dimorphism exists. Results indicate that marked (4-10%) sexual dimorphism does exist in the overall size of deciduous dentition; however, it cannot be assumed that males are larger in all tooth structures. Results suggest that while males do have larger central incisors and canines, their lateral incisors have smaller measurements than females. The variance in tooth structure dimensions will allow the creation of methodology to determine the sex when the majority of dentition is present.

Notes

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Thesis Completion

2012

Semester

Spring

Advisor

Dupras, Tosha L.

Degree

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

College

College of Sciences

Degree Program

Anthropology

Subjects

Dissertations, Academic -- Sciences;Sciences -- Dissertations, Academic

Format

PDF

Identifier

CFH0004231

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Document Type

Honors in the Major Thesis

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Included in

Anthropology Commons

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