Anthropology - Student Works
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Browsing Anthropology - Student Works by Subject "biological ancestry"
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Item Ancestry-specific variation in Rogers' method of sex estimation(2018) Simpson, Rachel; McKenzie, HughRogers’ (1999, 2009) visual method is a technique for estimating skeletal sex based on four traits of the distal humerus, and is valuable in cases of commingled or fragmented remains when use of more dominant cranial and pelvic methods is not possible. However, Rogers’ initial accuracy of 92% has not been replicated by subsequent tests of the method, and the role of biological ancestry in the accuracy of this method has not been sufficiently addressed. I conducted a blind test of the method on a sample of nineteenth-century American black and white individuals from the Hamann-Todd Collection. This test resulted in an overall accuracy of 67%, ranging from 54–73% between the two groups. These results demonstrate that accurate estimation of sex using the method is two times more likely for a white individual than for an black individual. More research is required to understand the cause of this variation. Prior to applying this method in bioarchaeological and forensic contexts, future should consider these results that the method is not consistently accurate across all human populations.Item Population-specific variation in the accuracy of Rogers’ method of sex estimation(2018) Simpson, Rachel; McKenzie, HughRogers’ (1) method of sex estimation is a visual technique that evaluates morphological variation in four traits of the distal posterior humerus. This method has the potential for widespread application in biological anthropology, but previous tests have been unable to replicate Rogers’ initial accuracy rate of 92%. Additionally, the role of populations in the accuracy of the method has not been sufficiently explored, as only one study (2) has controlled for it. Wanek (2) found differences in the accuracy of Rogers’ method correlated with different populations but concluded the method could be used on all human populations, regardless. This study tests Wanek’s (2) conclusion through a blind test of Rogers’ (1) original method, though it differs methodologically from previous studies (1–7) by seriating humeri according to trait expression, and by using logistic regression for analysis of results. In conducting a blind test on a sample of American black and white individuals from The Hamann-Todd Osteological Collection, I found that the method was 67% accurate overall, and that odds for a correct classification were 2.03 more likely for a white individual than for a black individual. Prior to applying this method in the future, bioarchaeologists and forensic anthropologists should consider these results within the context of their study.