Meeusen Rebecca A, Christensen Angi M, Hefner Joseph T
Department of Forensic Science, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, VA.
Federal Bureau of Investigation Laboratory, 2501 Investigation Parkway, Quantico, VA.
J Forensic Sci. 2015 Sep;60(5):1300-4. doi: 10.1111/1556-4029.12820. Epub 2015 Aug 10.
Having multiple reliable methods of estimating sex and ancestry from various skeletal features increases the likelihood of identifying skeletal remains. Femoral neck axis length (FNAL), as measured in living individuals, has been shown to vary by sex and ancestry. FNAL has not, however, been previously measured directly from skeletonized remains and investigated for its potential use in forensic anthropological applications. This research proposes a method for measuring FNAL from skeletal remains, determines the reliability and repeatability of the measurement, and assesses the validity of FNAL in sex and ancestry estimation. Results showed low interobserver error in the measurement of FNAL (TEM=0.33 mm, R=0.99). Significant differences in FNAL were found between sexes as well as between American Black, American White, and Native American groups. FNAL can correctly classify sex in ~86% of all cases and is considered valuable to sex estimation. The value of FNAL to ancestry estimation, however, is considered limited.
