Abstract

MILLAN, Ana Gabriela et al. Sexual estimation in bone remains of hunter-gatherers from Central Patagonia, Argentina: contrasting of morphometric methods with paleogenetic analysis. Rev Arg Antrop Biol [online]. 2021, vol.23, n.2, 037.  Epub July 14, 2021. ISSN 1514-7991.  http://dx.doi.org/10.24215/18536387e037.

The present study compares the results of sex estimation in ancient human bone remains of adult individuals from Argentine central Patagonia (N = 42) using two methods. On the one hand, the study of structures of the pelvis, skull, humerus, femur, and tibia. On the other hand, the biological sex estimated by means of molecular analysis (Next Generation Sequencing), using bioinformatic tools validated for ancient DNA. The results showed that sex estimations based on features of the pelvis (subpubic concavity and ventral arc), the mastoid process of the skull and the formulas proposed by Béguelin for humerus and femur were statistically similar to molecular results in this particular sample from Patagonia. In contrast, the estimations based on structures of the tibia and bicondylar width of humerus and femur were significantly different from molecular sex estimations. Further research needs to be conducted in order to test sex-estimation methods on subadult skeletons.

Keywords : Central Patagonia; bone remains; morphological sex identification; molecular sex identification.

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