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01-07-2017 | Original Article

Metric assessment of ancestry from the vertebrae in South Africans

Author: Özge Ünlütürk

Published in: International Journal of Legal Medicine | Issue 4/2017

Abstract

Ancestry estimation is one of the four basic steps for developing a biological profile. Research has shown that there are a certain amount of morphological and anthropometric differences among skeletons in populations. The aim of this study was to examine the Pretoria Bone Collection to analyze the ancestral variation in the vertebrae of the South African black and white population. The sample was composed of complete vertebrae from 144 individuals (73 whites, 71 blacks). Ancestry differences were assessed using the discriminant function procedure. Regarding the results of this study, when vertebral columns were evaluated, the data indicated (with high reliability) a difference between the two ancestries. The analysis provided an accuracy rate of 98 % in males and 93.5 % in females. Compared to skeleton pieces such as the skull and the pelvis, which have been studied often with high reliability results, these rates are highly significant.

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Title: Metric assessment of ancestry from the vertebrae in South Africans
Author: Özge Ünlütürk
Publication date: 01-07-2017
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in: International Journal of Legal Medicine / Issue 4/2017
Print ISSN: 0937-9827
Electronic ISSN: 1437-1596
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-016-1483-4

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Metric assessment of ancestry from the vertebrae in South Africans

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