A pilot study using the first cervical vertebra as an indicator of race.

Abstract

The articular surfaces and vertebral foramen of the first cervical vertebra can be used to estimate race from complete and fragmentary specimens. Eight measurements taken from 200 vertebrae from the Terry and Hamann-Todd collections (Smithsonian Institution and Cleveland Museum of Natural History, respectively) were used to construct 13 discriminant functions that predict race with 76-60% accuracy.