title: Evaluating sexual dimorphism in the human mastoid process: A viewpoint on the methodology.
abstract: The mastoid process is one of the most sexually dimorphic features in the human skull, and is therefore often used to identify the sex of skeletons. Numerous techniques for assessing variation in the size and shape of the mastoid process have been proposed and implemented in osteological research, but its complex form still presents difficulties for consistent and effective analysis. In this article, we compare the different techniques and variables that have been used to define, measure, and visually score sexual dimorphism in the mastoid process. We argue that the current protocols fail to capture the full morphological range of this bony projection, and suggest ways of improving and standardizing them, regarding both traditional and 3D-based approaches.
authors: Department of Forensic Medicine and Criminalistics, Rijeka University, School of Medicine, Rijeka, Croatia.
authors: Anja
authors: A
authors: Petaros
authors: Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, District of Columbia.
authors: Sabrina B
authors: SB
authors: Sholts
authors: Anthropological Center, Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors: Mario
authors: M
authors: Slaus
authors: Department of Forensic Medicine and Criminalistics, Rijeka University, School of Medicine, Rijeka, Croatia.
authors: Alan
authors: A
authors: Bosnar
authors: Division of Biophysics, Arrhenius Laboratories, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.|Division of Commercial and Business Law, IEI, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.|The Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, UCLA/Getty Conservation Programme, University of California in Los Angeles, California.
authors: Sebastian K T S
authors: SK
authors: Wärmländer
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D018732:Forensic Anthropology / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008416:Mastoid / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D012727:Sex Characteristics
keywords: forensic anthropology; mastoid process; osteology; sexual dimorphism; standardization