Forensic odontological sex determination of Ajnala skeletal remains based on the statistical equations generated from the odontometrics of known teeth

Abstract

Anthropological techniques are evolving and expanding continuously to decode and interpret the hidden information embedded within human skeletal and dental remains as biological language. Various studies have been reported for sex estimation from odontometric features of the teeth found in forensic or bio-archaeological contexts. Though the accuracy levels of such methods is just close to forensic thresholds, they serve as significant adjuncts to identity assessments from other methods. Thousands of bones and teeth were excavated from a disused well found situated underneath a religious structure at Ajnala (Amritsar, India) in April 2014. In the present study, the sex of unknown molar teeth retrieved from Ajnala skeletal assemblage was estimated using the customized discriminant and logistic regression formulas generated from the odontometrics of known teeth collected from Northwest Indian subjects. Five hundred and eleven mandibular molars (254 modern and 257 Ajnala human teeth) were measured for eight buccolingual and mesiodistal diameters at different levels. The multivariate discriminant and logistic regression equations were developed from odontometrics of known teeth to classify 75.4% and 76.1% teeth to their sex category, respectively. These equations were applied to odontometrics of Ajnala teeth and their D-estimates were calculated. It was found that 83% and 96% Ajnala teeth were identified to be of males from the multivariate logistic regression and discriminant function analysis, respectively. It corroborated the written versions about the Ajnala skeletal remains belonged to male soldiers killed in 1857 by the colonial rulers.