The Effectiveness of Sex Determination of Immature Individuals by Morphological Methods (A Case Study of Medieval Mamisondon Series, North Ossetia)

Abstract

Introduction. One of the main issues in the analysis of human remains in paleoanthropology and forensic examination is the sex determination. A large number of reliable methods for sex determination in adult individuals exist. However, when examining the remains of children and adolescents, the problem of sex determination is much more complicate. Various methods of such determination have been developed. All of them have different degrees of accuracy, applicable to different osteological series. Methods and materials. The early Medieval Mamisondon series (North Ossetia) was chosen for the study, in which the sex of the buried, including children, determined the location of the corpse. Genetic analysis and peptide analysis of tooth enamel were carried out to confirm the connection of body location with sex. Three methods of morphological sex determination in children’s skeletons have been tested: the use of discriminant functions for the size of the teeth and the use of descriptive characteristics of the mandible and pelvis shape. Mesiodistal and bucco-lingual tooth sizes were measured in 60 adults and 43 children. Morphological features of the mandible were evaluated in 37 individuals and the ilium in 33. The evaluation of the descriptive characteristics of the postcranial skeleton was carried out by the blind method, and then the data obtained were compared with sex determination data confirmed by laboratory methods. Analysis. By the method of step-by-step discriminant analysis, the characters were selected that most successfully dividing individuals by sex in our series. Results. We have built several discriminant equations based on deciduous and permanent molars, which allow us to determine sex with an accuracy of 70–80%. In our work, we especially note the importance of the first permanent molar for sex determination in children, since it appears first among permanent teeth, which are more dimorphic than deciduous teeth. We consider this method to be promising, however, due to the unequal level of sexual dimorphism and the size of teeth in different populations, the discriminant functions created by us are not universal and are applicable only specifically to our series, or to another series with the same level of sexual dimorphism and dimensional characteristics of the teeth. The descriptive characteristics studied in the work showed a low percentage of correct decisions in determining sex. Authors’ contribution: D. Khodyreva – experimental research, data analysis, writing original draft; N. Goncharova – methodology of statistical analysis, formal analysis, review and editing; A. Buzhilova – methodology of the research algorithm, review and editing, critical revision in order to improve the content; N. Berezina – the concept of the research algorithm, methodology, writing, review and editing.