A computational re-assessment of sexual dimorphism in the human cranium beyond traditional morphometrics: geometric morphometric methods and neural network analysis

Identifier:  TDX:4351

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/TDX4351

Authors:  Del Bove, Antonietta

Abstract:
The primary objective of this Ph.D. dissertation is to advance the study and understanding of sexual dimorphism in modern human crania. To achieve these objectives, we first explore which anatomical features are suitable for establishing sexual dimorphism. Secondly, we introduce a novel method for determining the sex of human crania. To fulfill these objectives, we apply the Geometric Morphometrics approach to a diverse geographical sample of crania. Our research encompasses three distinct studies, one focusing on the neurocranium, another on the frontal bone, and the final one on the entire cranium, involving a total of 228 individuals, both female and male. In pursuit of the second objective, we conduct a Neural Network Analysis using 10 linear measurements. We employ a craniometric worldwide dataset for this analysis.