A new multivariate method for determining sex of immature human remains using the maxillary first molar

Abstract

This study demonstrates substantial sexual dimorphism in a single tooth which is commonly preserved in archaeological and forensic contexts. It successfully assigns biological sex to immatures from 5 years of age with substantially greater accuracy than any other morphological or metric method. We suggest that accurate cross-population functions based on dentition require a trade-off between accuracy and applicability, and that functions extracted from populations of documented sex can be used to assign sex to other archaeological and forensic remains.