Gonzalo J. Trancho

Sexual Determination of the Femur Using Discriminant Functions. Analysis of a Spanish Population of Known Sex and Age

Until present, functions for sexual discrimination of a Spanish population from series of known sex and age were not available. In this work, we present a sample of 132 femora (72 females and 60 males) belonging to a Spanish population of adult individuals of known filiation deposited in the Complutense University of Madrid. The ten mathematical functions which yield a higher sexual discrimination in each part of the femur, were selected. The resulting percentages of correspondence varied between 84 and 97% when each variable was considered independently, and a 99% is obtained with two variables of the epiphyses combined.

Metacarpal Sexual Determination in a Spanish Population

ABSTRACT: Anthropologists and forensic pathologist determine the sex of skeletons by analyzing quantitative and qualitative characters in the bone remains. Generally, the skull and os coxae are the elements most used, but they are not always preserved. In such cases, the investigator needs to have available other techniques based on different remains. The aim of the present work is to develop and describe discriminating functions for sex determination in a recent Spanish population using metacarpal morphology. A sample of bones corresponding to a contemporary Spanish population deposited at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) was analyzed. This sample comprised 697 metacarpals, corresponding to 79 adult individuals (37 men and 42 women). These allowed us to obtain 120 unifactorial discriminant functions. We selected the 10 equations, one for each metacarpal from both hands, that provided the best sexual discrimination. The correct sex classification rank progressed from 81%, for right (R) metacarpals IV and V, to 91%, for left (L) metacarpal II. The results suggest that metacarpals are structures that can be used for sex determination in paleoanthropological and forensic identifications.

Postnatal ontogenesis of the tibia. Implications for age and sex estimation.

The growth of five variables of the tibia (diaphyseal length, diaphyseal length plus distal epiphysis, condylo-malleolar length, sagittal diameter of the proximal epiphysis, maximum breadth of the distal epiphysis) were analysed using polynomial regression in order to evaluate their significance and capacity for age and sex determination during and after growth. Data were collected from 181 (90♂ and 91♀) individuals ranging from birth to 25 years of age and belonging to three documented collections from Western Europe. Results indicate that all five variables exhibit linear behaviour during growth, which can be expressed by a first-degree polynomial function. Sexual significant differences were observed from age 15 onward in the two epiphysis measurements and condylo-malleolar length, suggesting that these three variables could be useful for sex determination in individuals older than 15 years. Strong correlation coefficients were identified between the five tibial variables and age. These results indicate that any of the studied tibial measurements is likely to serve as a useful source for estimating sub-adult age in both archaeological and forensic samples.

Reconstrucción del patrón alimenticio de dos poblaciones prehistóricas de la Meseta Norte

espanolSe estudia el patron nutricional de dos poblaciones prehistoricas, Aldeagordillo (Calcolitico Final) y El Tomillar (Bronce Antiguo) (Avila), mediante el analisis de elementos traza en el hueso. Se cuantifico la concentracion de nueve elementos quimicos: Ca, P, Mg, Zn, Fe, V, Cu, Sr y Ba. En general, el indice Ca/P senala que los restos oseos estaban afectados por diagenesis. Los resultados demuestran un tipo de economia basado en el consumo de productos vegetales, con una ingesta media o baja de proteinas animales. EnglishThe aim of this paper is to analise the diet reconstruction in two prehistoric populations, Aldeagordillo (Late Calcolithic) and El Tomillar (Early Bronze Age) (Avila), considering trace elemental composition of bone. Nine elements are considered: Ca, P, Mg, Zn, Fe, V, Cu, Sr and Ba. The ratio Ca/P shows some diagenetic changes in the human samples. The results obtained indicate that the economy was based on vegeta- ble sources, with a middle or low ingest of animal proteins.

Human skeletal remains from the Mesolithic site of Sheikh Mustafa (Central Sudan). An anthropometric and palaeodietary analysis

Analisis antropometrico y de paleodieta de los restos humanos de un subadulto de ocho anos de edad recuperados en la excavacion del yacimiento mesolitico de Sheikh Mustafa (Sudan Central). Se ha comparado la muestra con otras de hueso animal y del suelo circundante para evaluar los efectos diageneticos de contaminacion. El individuo tuvo una dieta fundamentalmente vegetariana incorporando la ingesta de leche y pescado; los moluscos y la carne forman parte de la dieta en menor grado.