Sex Determination

Abstract

Sex determination is the classification of an individual as either male or female. This evaluation is an integral part of a biological profile, which also includes the assessment of age, living stature, and ancestral origin. To achieve an assignation of sex, the anthropologist uses biological traits of the skeletal system that vary between the sexes for functional reasons. This variation is exhibited in soft and hard tissue (Plavcan 2001). This analysis is based on the maxim that function dictates form, so the purpose an element undertakes will dictate what that element looks like and how it responds to biomechanical loading and stress. Largely, forensic anthropology focuses on sexing skeletal remains, with little or no associated soft tissue.