Craniometric analysis of the modern Cretan population

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2008.06.018 Byline: Elena F. Kranioti (a), Mehmet Yasar A[degrees]Acan (b), Manolis Michalodimitrakis (a) Keywords: Forensic anthropology; Skulls; Sex determination; Skeletal remains; Greece Abstract: Despite the fact that sex assessment using craniofacial characteristics is commonly made worldwide, a lack of such investigation is noted in the Balkan area and in Greece in particular. The aim of this study is to develop a sex determination technique using osteometric data from skeletal remains of a contemporary Cretan cemetery population. A total of 90 males and 88 females are measured according to standard osteometric techniques. Age differences are not significant (mean age for men=68.94[+ or -]13.41, N =66; for women=73.21[+ or -]16.77, N =66). A total of 16 dimensions taken from the craniofacial skeleton are used and data are analyzed using SPSS subroutines. A comparison is made with other contemporary populations, including Americans (Terry collection) and South Africans (Dart and Pretoria collections), as well as an archaeological sample (Middle and Late Helladic) from Crete. Results indicate that males are statistically significantly greater than females in all dimensions. Bizygomatic breadth is the most discriminatory single dimension and can provide an accuracy rate of 82% on average. Using a stepwise method involving five dimensions (bizygomatic breadth, cranial length, nasion-prosthion and mastoid height and nasal breadth), accuracy is raised to 88.2%. Interestingly, cranial length is selected as the first discriminating variable by the stepwise analysis when only the neurocranium is available for measurement. Author Affiliation: (a) Department of Forensic Sciences, University of Crete-Medical School, 71110 Heraklion, Greece (b) Adli Tip Enstitusu, Istanbul University, CerrahpaAa, Istanbul, Turkey Article History: Received 2 April 2008; Revised 26 June 2008; Accepted 30 June 2008