Abstract:

Increasingly, physical anthropology is seeing the use of a variety of digital technologies to capture, describe and analyse skeletal elements. The last ten years have seen a dramatic increase in the number of publications undertaking validations of osteological techniques using CT (computed tomography) data and/or virtual models. In the last few years, with the increasing availability of relatively low cost technological approaches to rapid prototyping, especially 3D printing (3DP), production of bone replicas has gained popularity. However, no studies have explored the relative congruence of methods on real, virtual and 3DP models. This paper presents the results of a study to explore congruency in metric and morphological methods for determination of sex from the human hipbone. Intra- and inter-observer agreement between real, 3D virtual models and 3DP models is assessed using the Kappa statistic. Implications for future osteological studies are discussed.

Key Words: Physical Anthropology, Sex Determination, 3D Models, Rapid Prototyping

Introduction

Determination of sex is a central component to any osteological analysis, as it is essential for everything from age estimation to the reconstruction of palaeodemographic profiles and the study of patterns in past population health. Various techniques, including both metric and nonmetric, have been developed for determination of sex from the skeleton. More traditional methods utilize characteristics of the skull and pelvis and studies continue to develop new methods for these as well as other postcranial elements.

Visual analysis of gross morphology has played a central role in the development of techniques in sex estimation and is still the predominant form of analysis for a number of reasons (Walker 2008). One of the primary benefits of visual methods is the speed with which they can be applied to attain results (Walker 2008). Furthermore, visual methods generally require little to no equipment and can therefore be conducted in almost any situation. They are non-destructive and a number of techniques (particularly those associated with the pelvis) have a demonstrated high level of accuracy.

Bruzek and Murail (2006) identify three morphofunctional segments of the pelvis relevant to understanding sexual dimorphism – the sacroiliac segment, the ischiopubic segment, and the acetabular segment.