Sex and race determination of crania by calipers and computer : a test of the Giles and Elliot discriminant functions in 52 forensic cases.

Details

• Creators:
  Snow, Clyde C. ; Bartman, Steve ; Giles, Eugene ; Young, Fontaine A.
• Corporate Creators:
  Civil Aeromedical Institute
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Office of Aviation Medicine
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Skull
  • Anthropometry
  • Gender
  • Race
  • Forensic medicine
  • Detection and identification
  • Anthropology
  • Forensic anthropology
  • Craniometry
  • Calipers
  More +
• Publication/ Report Number:
  FAA-AM-79-2 ; DOT/FAA/AM-79/2
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Corporate Publisher:
  Civil Aerospace Medical Institute
• Abstract:
  The Giles and Elliot discriminant functions diagnosing sex and race from cranial measurements were tested on a series of forensically examined crania of known sex and race. Of 52 crania of known sex, 46 (88%) were correctly diagnosed. Racial diagnoses were correct in 30 (71%) of 42 crania of known race. Analysis of the facial data indicates that most of the errors resulted from the misclassification of American Indian crania as White or Negro. ; This suggests that the temporally remote and geographically limited prehistoric Indian crania used in developing the functions do not provide a data base representative of the present-day U.S. American Indian population. Cranial size, age at death, and certain pathological conditions altering cranial form can also contribute to misdiagnoses of sex and /or race by the function. We conclude, that despite some shortcomings, the Giles and Elliot discriminant functions provide a useful tool in forensic anthropology.
• Format:
  PDF
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/21153/dot_21153_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 747.26 KB]
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection ; FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a3fb33520b7bf657eb24b5dd363a369cf0c0eb221d055870ef3de2cdd51c9d52b4f035205c334611da68084828086b18408472e87d5c44ae586d8b7dd68193b3