An evaluation of race and sex identification from cranial measurements

Abstract A total of 104 adult human crania (95 American Indian and 9 Labrador Eskimo) are used in this evaluation of a discriminant functional analysis for determining race and sex from eight cranial measurements. The methods used are those given by Giles and Elliot ('62). The study shows that non‐deformed American Indian crania are racially misclassified as American White and Negro in 35.6% of the cases when using this metrical method. Deformed Indian crania are racially misclassified 60.0% and 4.4% of the time as White and Negro respectively. The determination of sex on male crania, regardless of deformation, is as accurate as, or better than, the visual method of identification. The female crania, however, are shown to be incorrectly sexed in nearly 50% of the cases, with one non‐deformed group (Palus) running as high as 80.0%. This evaluation suggests, therefore, that discriminant functional analyses for race and / or sex determinations are not applicable to problems of human identification unless the crania are from that population on which these functions were established.