*Presented in part at the 74th annual meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists, Milwaukee, WI.
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Sex Determination from Hand and Foot Bone Lengths†
Article first published online: 31 JAN 2007
DOI: 10.1111/j.1556-4029.2006.00365.x
Additional Information
How to Cite
Case, D. T. and Ross, A. H. (2007), Sex Determination from Hand and Foot Bone Lengths. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 52: 264–270. doi: 10.1111/j.1556-4029.2006.00365.x
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Publication History
- Issue published online: 31 JAN 2007
- Article first published online: 31 JAN 2007
- Received 28 May 2006; and in revised form 26 Aug. 2006; accepted 17 Sept. 2006; published 30 Jan. 2007.
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Keywords:
- forensic science;
- forensic anthropology;
- metacarpals;
- metatarsals;
- phalanges;
- sex estimation
ABSTRACT: Numerous studies have addressed sex estimation from the hands and feet with varying results. These studies have utilized multiple measurements to determine sex from the hands and feet, including measures of robusticity (e.g., base width and midshaft diameter). However, robusticity measurements are affected by activity, which can disguise underlying patterns of sexual dimorphism. The purpose of this study is to investigate the utility of length measurements of the hands and feet to estimate sex. The sample consists of white females (n=123) and males (n=136) from the Terry Collection. Discriminant function analysis was used to classify individuals by sex. The left hand outperformed both the right hand and foot producing correct classification rates exceeding 80%. Surprisingly, the phalanges were better sex discriminators than either the metacarpals or metatarsals. This study suggests that length measures are more appropriate than robusticity measures for sex estimation.