Sex determination using the scapula in medieval skeletons from East Anatolia.

Abstract

Sex determination from skeletal human remains by discriminant function analysis is one of the methods utilized in the forensic and osteoarcheological sciences. The purpose of the present study is to establish metric standards for sex determination for medieval Anatolian populations using scapular measurements. The database for this research consisted of 93 adult skeletal remains (47 males and 46 females) from the Dilkaya medieval collection. Four measurements were taken: maximum scapular height, maximum scapular breadth, glenoid cavity height, glenoid cavity breadth, and subjected to discriminant function analysis. All measurements demonstrated some degree of sexual dimorphism, with the highest accuracy of sex determination (94.8%) obtained using maximum scapular breadth. Overall accuracies of the functions ranged from 82.9% to 95.0%, with a higher accuracy rate obtained for female skeletons than for males. Population specific discriminant formulas were developed using combinations of measurements, which can be used in ancient Anatolian populations.