No abstract

Due to disproportionate violence impacting the transgender community, forensic anthropologists may encounter the remains of trans individuals; however, it is unknown how often trans individuals are represented in casework and if practitioners have sufficient knowledge about trans bodies. After contextualizing forensically relevant demographics for the trans community, this study uses survey data of forensic anthropologists to critically explore the collective knowledge of and experience working with trans individuals; practitioners’ perceptions of sex and gender; and potential opportunities for trans-oriented research. The results indicate that 28.9% of respondents have worked with trans individuals in casework, but most forensic anthropologists were unfamiliar with forms and evidence of gender affirming procedures. Additionally, the survey indicates that forensic anthropologists struggle with the binary nature of forensic sex estimation, with 42.4% agreeing that sex is binary and 56.2% disagreeing. Similar opposition was found with reporting gender: 39.5% indicated that gender should be reported in casework and 31.0% disagreed. Moreover, current sex estimation methods are: rigidly binary; not reflective of human biological variation; and inadequate for trans individuals as they are based on assigned sex. To dismantle rigidly binary sex categorization, we propose the adoption of a biocultural and queer theoretical approach to forensic sex estimation and in sexual dimorphism research that challenges heteronormative assumptions, questions typological two-sex categorization, and combats the presumptions that gender and sex are stable, independent entities that convey universal meaning. Relatedly, the expansion of trans-oriented research, which is supported by 95.8% of respondents, will further improve methodological accuracies.

Objectives: Secular change in cranial and postcranial morphometrics and morphological traits has been documented in several studies. However, to date, few studies have addressed temporal changes occurring in the expression of cranial morphological traits commonly used in ancestry estimation. This study examines secular change in the expression of 23 cranial and mandibular morphological traits; accounting for ageat-death, sex, and year-of-birth. Materials & Methods: Data were collected on 23 morphological cranial and mandibular traits for European American individuals (19-97 years of age) from the Hamann-Todd Skeletal Collection (n = 518) and the William M. Bass Donated Skeletal Collection (n = 602). Individuals were divided into six birth-year cohorts: 1824-1849 (Cohort 1),

Ancestry assessment from the postcranial skeleton presents a significant challenge to forensic anthropologists. However, metric dimensions of the femur subtrochanteric region are believed to distinguish between individuals of Asian and non-Asian descent. This study tests the discriminatory power of subtrochanteric shape using modern samples of 128 Thai and 77 White American males. Results indicate that the samples' platymeric index distributions are significantly different (p≤0.001), with the Thai platymeric index range generally lower and the White American range generally higher. While the application of ancestry assessment methods developed from Native American subtrochanteric data results in low correct classification rates for the Thai sample (50.8-57.8%), adapting these methods to the current samples leads to better classification. The Thai data may be more useful in forensic analysis than previously published subtrochanteric data derived from Native American samples. Adapting methods to include appropriate geographic and contemporaneous populations increases the accuracy of femur subtrochanteric ancestry methods.

Methods for estimating assigned, binary sex at birth from skeletonized remains have primarily been developed for specific population groups in the U.S. (e.g., African American, European American, Hispanic) and, thus, inherently rely on ancestry estimation as a foundational component for constructing the biological profile. However, ongoing discussions in forensic anthropology highlight pressing issues with ancestry estimation practices. Therefore, this research provides population-inclusive assigned-sex estimation models for cases where ancestry is not estimated or is truly unknown. The study sample (n = 431) includes 3D volume-rendered skull computed tomography scans from the novel New Mexico Decedent Image Database of African, Asian, European, Latin, and Native Americans. Five standard nonmetric traits were scored, and eighteen standard measurements were obtained. Binary logistic regressions and discriminant function analyses were employed to produce models and classification accuracies, and intraobserver reliability was assessed. The population-inclusive nonmetric and metric models produced cross-validated classification accuracies of 81.0–87.0% and 86.7–87.0%, respectively, which did not differ significantly from the accuracy of most population-specific models. Moreover, combined nonmetric and metric models increased accuracy to 88.8–91.6%. This study indicates that population-inclusive assigned-sex estimation models can be used instead of population-specific models in cases where ancestry is intentionally not estimated, given current concerns with ancestry estimation.