Ancestry Estimation in Forensic Anthropology: Geometric Morphometric versus Standard and Nonstandard Interlandmark Distances

Standard cranial measurements are commonly used for ancestry estimation; however, 3D digitizers have made cranial landmark data collection and geometric morphometric (GM) analyses more popular within forensic anthropology. Yet there has been little focus on which data type works best. The goal of th...

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Published in:Journal of forensic sciences Vol. 61; no. 4; pp. 892 - 897
Main Authors: Katherine Spradley, M., Jantz, Richard L.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-07-2016
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Summary:Standard cranial measurements are commonly used for ancestry estimation; however, 3D digitizers have made cranial landmark data collection and geometric morphometric (GM) analyses more popular within forensic anthropology. Yet there has been little focus on which data type works best. The goal of the present research is to test the discrimination ability of standard and nonstandard craniometric measurements and data derived from GM analysis. A total of 31 cranial landmarks were used to generate 465 interlandmark distances, including a subset of 20 commonly used measurements, and to generate principal component scores from procrustes coordinates. All were subjected to discriminant function analysis to ascertain which type of data performed best for ancestry estimation of American Black and White and Hispanic males and females. The nonstandard interlandmark distances generated the highest classification rates for females (90.5%) and males (88.2%). Using nonstandard interlandmark distances over more commonly used measurements leads to better ancestry estimates for our current population structure.
Bibliography:The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication/program/exhibition are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Justice.
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Data S1. Ancestry Estimation in Forensic Anthropology: Geometric Morphometric versus Standard and Nonstandard Interlandmark Distances
Presented in part at the 66th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, February 17-22, 2014, in Seattle, WA.
ArticleID:JFO13081
Supported by Award No. 2008-DX-BX-K46, awarded by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.
National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice - No. 2008-DX-BX-K46
ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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ISSN:0022-1198
1556-4029
DOI:10.1111/1556-4029.13081