Epiphyseal Breadth Research Articles

Sex estimation of skeletons in middle and late adulthood: reliability of pelvic morphological traits and long bone metrics on an Italian skeletal collection.

There are several metric and morphological methods available for sex estimation of skeletal remains, but their reliability and applicability depend on the sexual dimorphism of the remains as well as on the availability of preserved bones. Some studies showed that age-related changes on bones can cause misclassification of sex. The purpose of this study was to establish the reliability of pelvic morphological traits and metric methods of sex estimation on relatively old individuals from a modern Italian skeletal collection. The data for this study were obtained from 164 individuals of the Milano CAL skeletal collection and average age of the samples was 75years. In the pelvic morphological method, the recalibrated regression formula of Klales and colleagues (2012), pre-auricular sulcus, and greater sciatic notch morphology were used for sex estimation. With regard to the metric method, 15 standard measurements from upper and lower limbs were analyzed for sexual dimorphism. The results showed that in pelvic morphological approach, the application of regression formula of the revised Klales and colleague formula (2017) resulted in 100% accuracy. Classification rates of metric methods vary from 75.19 to 90.73% with the maximum epiphyseal breadth of proximal tibia representing the most discriminant parameter. This study confirms that the effect of age on sex estimation methods is not substantial, and both metric and morphological methods of sex estimation can be reliably applied to individuals of Italian descent in middle and late adulthood.

Evaluation of osteometric parameters of fibula and talar facet morphometry in Telangana region

Introduction: Fibula the slender lateral bone of the leg has vast clinical and surgical application. The various osteometric parameters from both the ends and intervening shaft can be used to accurately assess the stature, nutritional status of an individual, determine the identity and gender, and aid in evaluation and surgical management of different ankle pathologies. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate osteometric parameters of fibula and Talar facet morphometry in Telangana region. Statistical analyses of these measurements, regional comparisons and correlations between these measurements are presented in this paper. Materials and Methods: Anthropometric evaluation of 74 dry, complete adult human fibulae was done. Measurement of 10 osteometric variables from different parts of the fibula and morphological analysis of talar facet have been undertaken results statistically analysed and tabulated. Results and Conclusions: The precise osteometric measurements of adult fibula in Telangana region have been presented in this paper. Significant correlation was found between the maximum length, mid shaft circumference, neck circumference, upper and lower epiphyseal breadth. This data has vast anthropometric, clinical, surgical, forensic and demographic application. Keywords: Fibula, Neck, Lateral malleolus, Talar facet.

Determination of sex from the tibia in a contemporary Sri Lankan population

Determination of sex from the tibial dimensions has been attempted before in different populations. The formulae developed to determine sex of one population are not appropriate to be applied to another. Seven standard variables including the maximum length of tibia, proximal epiphyseal breadth, distal epiphyseal breadth, minimum circumference of shaft, anteroposterior diameter at nutrient foramen, transverse diameter at the nutrient foramen (TDNF), and circumference at the nutrient foramen obtained from 81 adult tibiae (56 male and 25 female) were analyzed to investigate the sexual dimorphism in the tibial dimensions to establish sex estimating formulae from the tibia in a contemporary Sri Lankan population. Results confirmed the existence of sexual dimorphism of the tibia. Discriminant functions obtained resulted in the classification accuracies ranging from 61.9% to 80.2%. The most dimorphic single parameter in males was the TDNF providing an accuracy of 92.9%, while in females, the minimum circumference of shaft provided an accuracy of 70.4%. The best multivariate equation utilizing two tibial dimensions resulted in an accuracy of 80.2% after cross-validation. We envisage that sex estimating formulae established in this study for a contemporary Sri Lankan population will contribute toward the biological profiling and identification of unknown skeletal remains.

Testing the effectiveness of osteometrics in the identification of North American gallinaceous bird post-cranial elements

Galliformes, or game birds, are an order of birds commonly utilized by people and are regularly found in zooarchaeological assemblages. Morphological and size similarities make many galliforms difficult to distinguish from each other, thereby prohibiting specific identification of these taxa. Non-identified bones lead to a decrease in information available about archeological sites, particularly for bird species which provide a wealth of information about the economy and environment of historic and prehistoric sites. In this paper, we test the effectiveness of osteometrics in nine North American gallinaceous species to assess their utility for identifying post-cranial skeletal elements to genus or species. Statistical analysis of measurements successfully separated several Phasianidae subfamilies and identified the largest (turkey) and smallest (quail) species. Measurements driving variation between taxa were primarily long bone length and epiphyseal breadth. Few elements showed statistically significant differences within Tetraoninae and Phasianinae clades. We suggest that zooarchaeologists adopt long bone metrics as a standard, complementary technique to traditional morphological identifications for unknown galliforms.

Error quantification of osteometric data in forensic anthropology

This study evaluates the reliability of osteometric data commonly used in forensic case analyses, with specific reference to the measurements in Data Collection Procedures 2.0 (DCP 2.0). Four observers took a set of 99 measurements four times on a sample of 50 skeletons (each measurement was taken 200 times by each observer). Two-way mixed ANOVAs and repeated measures ANOVAs with pairwise comparisons were used to examine interobserver (between-subjects) and intraobserver (within-subjects) variability. Relative technical error of measurement (TEM) was calculated for measurements with significant ANOVA results to examine the error among a single observer repeating a measurement multiple times (e.g. repeatability or intraobserver error), as well as the variability between multiple observers (interobserver error). Two general trends emerged from these analyses: (1) maximum lengths and breadths have the lowest error across the board (TEM<0.5), and (2) maximum and minimum diameters at midshaft are more reliable than their positionally-dependent counterparts (i.e. sagittal, vertical, transverse, dorso-volar). Therefore, maxima and minima are specified for all midshaft measurements in DCP 2.0. Twenty-two measurements were flagged for excessive variability (either interobserver, intraobserver, or both); 15 of these measurements were part of the standard set of measurements in Data Collection Procedures for Forensic Skeletal Material, 3rd edition. Each measurement was examined carefully to determine the likely source of the error (e.g. data input, instrumentation, observer’s method, or measurement definition). For several measurements (e.g. anterior sacral breadth, distal epiphyseal breadth of the tibia) only one observer differed significantly from the remaining observers, indicating a likely problem with the measurement definition as interpreted by that observer; these definitions were clarified in DCP 2.0 to eliminate this confusion. Other measurements were taken from landmarks that are difficult to locate consistently (e.g. pubis length, ischium length); these measurements were omitted from DCP 2.0. This manual is available for free download online (https://fac.utk.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/DCP20_webversion.pdf), along with an accompanying instructional video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtkLFl3vim4).

Is “Latin American” population-specific? Testing sex discriminant functions from the Mexican tibia on a Chilean sample

Latin American populations are traditionally reported as one ancestral group in the forensic anthropology literature. However, this study illustrates the need for population-specific methodologies for ancestral groups that are considered Latin American. This project evaluated the accuracy of the sex estimation discriminant function created from the tibia of a Mexican population, when applied to a Chilean population. The maximum distal epiphyseal breadth (MDEB) and the anterior-posterior diameter at the nutrient foramen (APDNF) were measured on 203 tibiae (108 males and 95 females) from the Subactual Skeletal Collection at the University of Chile. The individuals ranged in age from 20 to 96 years old. When the Mexican discriminant function was applied to the Chilean population, accuracy rates ranged from 76.0% (males) to 85.0% (females). Mean tibial size comparisons were made to a Mexican, Croatian, White South African, archaeological Hispanic, and North Indian population and showed some significant differences between the variables measured. Population-specific discriminant functions were created for the Chilean population with overall sex classification accuracy rates of 71.4% (MDEB only) to 89.2% (MDEB and APDNF). This study illustrates the need for population-specific and temporally-specific discriminant functions for estimation of sex from the tibia.

Sexual dimorphism of the tibia in contemporary Greek-Cypriots and Cretans: Forensic applications

Sex estimation is an essential step in the identification process of unknown heavily decomposed human remains as it eliminates all possible matches of the opposite sex from the missing person’s database. Osteometric methods constitute a reliable approach for sex estimation and considering the variation of sexual dimorphism between and within populations; standards for specific populations are required to ensure accurate results. The current study aspires to contribute osteometric data on the tibia from contemporary Greek-Cypriots to assist the identification process. A secondary goal involves osteometric comparison with data from Crete, a Greek island with similar cultural and dietary customs and environmental conditions. Left tibiae from one hundred and thirty-two skeletons (70 males and 62 females) of Greek-Cypriots and one hundred and fifty-seven skeletons (85 males, 72 females) of Cretans were measured. Seven standard metric variables including Maximum length (ML), Upper epiphyseal breadth (UB), Nutrient foramen anteroposterior diameter (NFap), Nutrient Foramen transverse diameter (NFtrsv), Nutrient foramen circumference (NFCirc), Minimum circumference (MinCirc) and Lower epiphyseal breadth (LB) were compared between sexes and populations. Univariate and multivariate discriminant functions were developed and posterior probabilities were calculated for each sample. Results confirmed the existence of sexual dimorphism of the tibia in both samples as well as the pooled sample. Classification accuracy for univariate functions ranged from 78% to 85% for Greek-Cypriots and from 69% to 83% for Cretans. The best multivariate equations after cross-validation resulted in 87% for Greek-Cypriots and 90% accuracy for Cretans. When the samples were pooled accuracy reached 87% with over 95% confidence for about one third of the population. Estimates with over 95% of posterior probability can be considered reliable while any less than 80% should be treated with caution. This work constitutes the initial step towards the creation of an osteometric database for Greek-Cypriots and we hope it can contribute to the biological profiling and identification of the missing and to potential forensic cases of unknown skeletal remains both in Cyprus and Crete.

Sex estimation of the tibia in modern Turkish: A computed tomography study.

The utilization of computed tomography is beneficial for the analysis of skeletal remains and it has important advantages for anthropometric studies. The present study investigated morphometry of left tibia using CT images of a contemporary Turkish population. Seven parameters were measured on 203 individuals (124 males and 79 females) within the 19-92-years age group. The first objective of this study was to provide population-specific sex estimation equations for the contemporary Turkish population based on CT images. A second objective was to test the sex estimation formulae on Southern Europeans by Kranioti and Apostol (2015). Univariate discriminant functions resulted in classification accuracy that ranged from 66 to 86%. The best single variable was found to be upper epiphyseal breadth (86%) followed by lower epiphyseal breadth (85%). Multivariate discriminant functions resulted in classification accuracy for cross-validated data ranged from 79 to 86%. Applying the multivariate sex estimation formulae on Southern Europeans (SE) by Kranioti and Apostol in our sample resulted in very high classification accuracy ranging from 81 to 88%. In addition, 35.5-47% of the total Turkish sample is correctly classified with over 95% posterior probability, which is actually higher than the one reported for the original sample (25-43%). We conclude that the tibia is a very useful bone for sex estimation in the contemporary Turkish population. Moreover, our test results support the hypothesis that the SE formulae are sufficient for the contemporary Turkish population and they can be used safely for criminal investigations when posterior probabilities are over 95%.

Effects of probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics on mineral metabolism in ovariectomized rats — impact of bacterial mass, intestinal absorptive area and reduction of bone turn-over

BackgroundDefined prebiotics were shown to improve calcium balance and diminish bone loss. However, the effect of their combination with probiotics on gut ecology and bone metabolism has not yet been studied. We investigated whether the combination of a probiotic with a defined microbial strain results in improved bone mineralization, and whether this effect is associated with changes in gut ecology. MethodsEighty ovariectomized adult rats were allocated to five groups: group 1, sham-operated (SHAM); group 2–5, ovariectomized (OVX). Semipurified diets containing 0.7% calcium and 0.5% phosphorus were fed for 16weeks, group 1 and group 2 got no supplements, group 3 (PRO) was supplemented with a potential probiotic (Lactobacillus acidophilus NCC90), group 4 (PRE) with prebiotics (oligofructose+acacia gum) and group 5 (SYN) with synbiotics (probiotics+prebiotics). ResultsOvariectomy increased body weight and reduced bone weight, content of calcium, phosphorus and ash of bone, bone alkaline phosphatase (BAP), and bone structure. This was indicated by lower trabecular bone area, trabecular perimeter, and connectivity but higher epiphyseal breadth. Ovariectomy elevated the jejunal pH. The probiotic alone did not significantly affect bone mineralization and gut ecology. Rats on prebiotics had significantly higher amounts of cecal contents and lower pH in cecal and colonic contents. Their calcium balance tended to be increased (p<0.1). Synbiotics reduced pH in different intestinal segments, significantly in cecum. They stimulated most the colonic absorption surface as indicated by colon weight. Only feeding synbiotics significantly prevented OVX-induced loss of calcium content in lumbar vertebrae (mg) with final values (mean±SD) of 44.44±2.94 (SHAM), 41.20±4.59 (OVX), 41.63±3.78 (PRO), 43.42±3.07 (PRE), and 44.68±2.28 (SYN). This effect was associated with higher counts of bifidobacteria in the short-term and Bacteroides in the long-term, and with a tendency for lower BAP with 128.7±28.5U/L vs. 155.3±28.1U/L in OVX (p<0.1). ConclusionSYN exerted a synergistic effect on bone mineralization, presumably due to changes in gut microbiota and ecology associated with large bowel digesta weight (most likely reflecting microbial mass) and with large bowel weight (reflecting absorptive area), while bone turnover tended to be reduced as indicated by BAP.

Sex determination from distal epiphyseal breadth of tibia

Sex determination from distal epiphyseal breadth of tibia

Sex determination by discriminant function analysis of the tibia for contemporary Croats

Previous studies have demonstrated that populations differ from each other in size and proportion, and that these differences can affect metric assessment of sex. This paper establishes standards for determining sex from fragmentary and complete tibiae in the modern Croatian population. Measurements were taken on 180 tibiae (109 male and 71 female) from positively identified victims of the 1991–1995 War in Croatia. Six standard dimensions: length of the tibia (CML), maximum epiphyseal breadth of the proximal tibia (MPEB), maximum epiphyseal breadth of the distal tibia (MDEB), maximum diameter of the tibia at the nutrient foramen (MDNF), transverse diameter of the tibia at the nutrient foramen (TDNF), and circumference of the tibia at the nutrient foramen (CNF), were taken and subjected to different discriminant function analyses. The highest level of accuracy (91.1%) in the analyzed data set was achieved employing the variables: maximum epiphyseal breadth of the proximal tibia, maximum epiphyseal breadth of the distal tibia, maximum diameter of the tibia at the nutrient foramen, transverse diameter of the tibia at the nutrient foramen, and circumference of the tibia at the nutrient foramen. The second highest level of accuracy (90.6%) was achieved using a combination of only three variables: maximum epiphyseal breadth of the proximal tibia, maximum diameter of the tibia at the nutrient foramen, and circumference of the tibia at the nutrient foramen. The lowest accuracy (84.4%) was obtained when only one variable (maximum diameter of the tibia at the nutrient foramen) was employed. The results of this study show that the modern Croatian tibia is a good skeletal component for determining sex. Standardized coefficients of the discriminant functions generated in this study support the results of previous studies that found that breadth dimensions provide better separation of the sexes than length.

An assessment of the accuracy of discriminant function equations for sex determination of the femur and tibia from a South African population

The purpose of this study is to test the accuracy of seven discriminant function equations that have been derived by Steyn and Isçan for sex determination using measurements of the femur and tibia of South Africans of European descent (SAED). While the validity of some of the discriminant functions has been assessed by the authors who derived them, no previous independent study has been carried out to assess the accuracy of these equations. These equations have not been tested on skeletons located outside of the Gauteng province. A suite of measurements were taken on 272 femora and 256 tibiae obtained from four South African skeletal collections. The validity of each of the previously published equations for the femur was confirmed. However, two functions of the tibia showed low accuracy rates, most likely due to difficulties in recording the distal epiphyseal breadth measurement, and thus were found to be poor assessors of sex.

Neandertal postcranial remains from the Sima de las Palomas del Cabezo Gordo, Murcia, southeastern Spain

The Sima de las Palomas, southeastern Spain, has yielded a series of Neandertal postcranial remains, including immature and mature isolated elements and the fragmentary partial skeleton of a young adult (Palomas 92). The remains largely conform to the general late archaic/Neandertal morphological pattern in terms of humeral diaphyseal shape, pectoralis major tuberosity size and pillar thickness, ulnar coronoid process height, manual middle phalangeal epiphyseal breadth, manual distal phalangeal tuberosity shape and breadth, femoral diaphyseal shape, and probably body proportions. Palomas 92 contrasts with the Neandertals in having variably gracile hand remains, a more sellar trapezial metacarpal 1 facet, more anteroposteriorly expanded mid-proximal femoral diaphysis, and less robust pedal proximal phalanges. The Palomas Neandertals contrast with more northern European Neandertals particularly in various reflections of overall body size.

Sex determination from the distal part of the femur in a French contemporary population

Until now, determining the sex of a recently deceased individual using the measurement of the bicondylar breadth of the femur (also known as condylar width, epicondylar breadth and distal epiphyseal breadth) raised some concerns as to accuracy because no sample of contemporary French subjects was available. In this study, a sample of 88 female and male femurs taken from recently deceased elderly French people was studied. The bones were collected from subjects who had donated their bodies to the Medical School of Nice. The mean value of the male bicondylar breadth was found to be greater than that of females (84.3 mm versus 74.8 mm), confirming the sexual dimorphism of this parameter. Furthermore, the results showed a 95.4% accuracy rate for sexing individuals. To date, in the French population, as in some other samples, epicondylar breadth is the single most accurate measurement of sex determination, ahead even of head diameter. A discriminant function is presented to allow sex determination from remains of the distal femur. With regard to the data available in the literature, sexual dimorphism is probably the result of both genetic and environmental factors. The comparison of our results with those of other populations shows that there are inter-population variations of the bicondylar breadth, and also intra-population variations that account for the differences in the accuracy rate of this variable for the purposes of sex determination. These findings underscore the need to re-evaluate bone measurements within various contemporary populations.

Gender Determination in Adult Egyptians From Complete and Fragmentary Tibiae. An Anthropological Study

Sex determination from skeletal remains forms an important component in the identification procedure. The aim of the present study was to establish standards for determining sex from complete or fragmentary tibiae in the adult Egyptians. The study was carried out on 100 tibial bones with previously known sex (64 males and 36 females). Seven tibial dimensions were used; condyle-malleolar length; circumference at the nutrient foramen; minimal shaft circumference: anteroposterior dimension at nutrient foramen: transverse dimension at nutrient foramen: proximal epiphyseal breadth: and distal epiphyseal breadth. Four discriminant functions were generated; one using the seven variables, one using two variables, and two employing one variable. The results showed that complete tibiae can be sexed with 86.4% accuracy using the seven variables, and the same degree of accuracy was achieved using only two variables, while discriminate functions employing one variable showed accuracies of 66.7% and 77.3%. The study concluded that the tabia (fragmentary or complete) can be used for sex determination with a lentgh degree of accuracy from 66.7% up to 80.4%

Discriminant function sexing of fragmentary and complete tibiae from medieval Croatian sites

Previous studies have demonstrated that populations differ from each other in size and proportion and that these differences can affect metric assessment of sex. This paper establishes standards for determining sex from fragmentary and complete tibiae in the medieval Croatian population. The sample is composed of 180 tibiae (96 males and 84 females) from six medieval archaeological sites in Croatia. Three of the sites were located in continental Croatia, three on the eastern Adriatic coast and its immediate hinterland. Six tibial dimensions were measured: (1) length of the tibia; (2) maximum epiphyseal breadth of the proximal tibia; (3) maximum epiphyseal breadth of the distal tibia; (4) maximum diameter of the tibia at the nutritient foramen; (5) transverse diameter of the tibia at the nutritient foramen; and (6) circumference of the tibia at the nutritient foramen. Unifactorial and multifactorial analyses were performed on the collected data. Six discriminant functions were generated, one using six variables, two using two variables, and three employing one variable. Results show that complete tibiae can be sexed with 92.2% accuracy. Slightly lower accuracies (91.7 and 87.8%) were achieved using a combination of two variables, while functions employing one variable were accurate from 85.6 to 81.7%. The results of this study show that the medieval Croatian tibia is a good skeletal component for determining sex. Standardized coefficients of the discriminant functions generated in this study support the results of previous studies that found that breadth dimensions provide better separation of the sexes than length.

Sexual determination of long bones in recent Japanese

Sexual diagnosis of skeletons is of importance to physical and forensic anthropologists. The present study attempts to provide a basis from which one might choose a variable of a long bone that is most suitable in sexual assessments of skeletal material. A total of 47 variables of the humerus, radius, ulna, femur, and tibia of 64 recent-modern Japanese (32 male, 32 female) were investigated. The data were analyzed using the t-test and the stepwise discriminant analysis. The width of the articular surface of the distal humerus, the sagittal head diameter of the radius, the diaphyseal cross-section area or the articular breadth of the ulna, the bicondylar width or the transverse diameter of the lateral condyle of the femur, and the proximal epiphyseal breadth of the tibia were useful in sexual diagnosis of each of the long bones. Total accuracies of sex determination using these variables ranged from 91 to 95%. Among these measurements, sexual dimorphism tended to be greatest in the breadth diameters of the elbow and knee joints.

Türk Toplumuna Özgü Üst ve Alt Ekstremite Kemiklerinin Uzunlukları Antropometrik Araştırma

Bu çalışmanın amacı; iskelet kemiklerinden kimlik belirlenmesinde yararlanılmak üzere Türk toplumuna özgü veri tabanı oluşturulmasına katkıda bulunmaktır. Çalışmada Adli Tıp Kurıımu’na gönderilmiş iskelet kemiklerinden yararlanıldı. Femur, tibia, fibula, humerus, radius ve ulna kemiklerinden uluslararası standartlara uygun ölçümler yapıldı. Üst ekstremite kemiklerinden yapılan tüm ölçümler ile alt ekstremite kemiklerine ait femur maksimum uzunluğu, bikondiler femur uzunluğu, femur distal epikon-dil genişliği, tibia uzunluğu, tibia proksimal epifiz genişliği, tibia gövdesi ön-arka genişliği, foramen nutricium hizasında tibia çevresi ve fibula uzunluğu açısından cinsiyetler arasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı farklılık bulunmuştur (Student’s t-test; p&lt;0,05-p&lt;0,001). Elde edilen veriler benzer bulgulan içeren yabancı kaynaklarla karşılaştırılmıştır.Anahtar Kelimeler: Adli antropoloji, Türk toplumu, femur, tibia, fibula, humerus, radius, ulna.

Sex determination by discriminant function analysis of the right tibia in the prehispanic population of the Canary Islands

This study has been performed in order to define standards usable to determine the sex of prehispanic individuals from the Canary Islands from their skeletal remains. Osteometric information at the right tibia was obtained from 59 complete skeletons from Gran Canaria, housed in the Museo Canario (Las Palmas), 45 males and 14 females (this constitutes the totality of complete prehispanic skeletons known from Gran Canaria). The parameters measured were: tibial length, proximal and distal epiphyseal breadth, transverse and anteroposterior diameter, perimeter at the nutrition foramen levels and minimum shaft perimeter. These parameters were subjected to different SPSS discriminant function analysis, combining all of them, or only the proximal or distal ones, without tibial length, etc., in order to obtain functions usable even if only bone fragments are available. Transverse diameter, proximal epiphyseal breadth and minimum shaft perimeter showed the highest discriminant power. The functions obtained showed high average accuracies, ranging from 94.9 to 98.3%, with female accuracies of 100%. The functions obtained were further applied to a test prehispanic population (ten males and ten females) from El Hierro. Overall accuracies of the functions when applied to this population ranged from 65 to 94.7%, with female accuracies ranging 80% to 100%.

Sexual dimorphism in the Chinese femur

In the last decade, there has been renewed interest in contemporary and ancient Chinese skeletal populations. The purpose of this research is the osteometric assessment of sexual dimorphism in recent mainland Chinese cemetery populations and the development of discriminant function standards to determine sex from the femur. The sample for this project was composed of 87 adult skeletons from cemeteries in Chang Chun City (Liaoning) and Qingdao (Shandong). A total of six femoral measurements was taken and subjected to SPSS discriminant function analysis. Three dimensions were selected by the stepwise analysis in the following order: distal epiphyseal breadth, maximum length, and anteroposterior diameter of the midshaft. This function produced 92.3% classification accuracy. Direct analysis revealed that distal epiphyseal breadth alone provided an even better separation (94.9%). The remaining functions were less discriminating. In conclusion, distal epiphyseal breadth is the most dimorphic part of the Chinese femur. This contrasts with earlier findings on American Whites and Blacks in which head diameter is the most dimorphic. This and other significant differences underscore the necessity of obtaining population-specific values for metric analysis of sex. These findings also support previous studies indicating that linear dimensions such as length are often less discriminating than breadth and circumference measurements in long bones. Finally, the fact that maximum dimorphism was found at a major weight-bearing joint suggests that the size differentials between Chinese males and females may be in large part functional in nature, perhaps arising from sex-specific physical activities.