Testing assumptions of the Gilbert and Gill method for assessing ancestry using the femur subtrochanteric shape

Abstract

In 1990, Gilbert and Gill proposed a simple metric technique using femoral subtrochanteric anteroposterior and mediolateral diaphyseal diameters for discriminating between Native American and American Black and White femora in medicolegal and bioarchaeological contexts. However, there are several inherent assumptions in the method that may affect its validity. The assumptions include minimal sexual dimorphism, temporal and geographical homogeneity within populations, and that differences between populations in femoral subtrochanteric size and shape are primarily due to genetic variation. In this study, these assumptions are tested using femora from seven populations (African, American Black, American White, Australian, Native American, Hispanic, and Polynesian). The results indicate that sexual dimorphism and geographical and temporal heterogeneity in proximal femur diaphyseal shape within Native Americans are not great enough to significantly affect the validity of the Gilbert and Gill method (GGM). Variation between populations is most likely due to combined genetic and environmental factors, but differences in proximal femur shape between Native Americans and American Blacks/Whites are sufficient to allow accurate discrimination between these groups. Caution, however, must be taken during investigations where populations other than Native Americans or American Blacks/Whites are present, and therefore, the GGM may have limited forensic anthropological application in many parts of the world.