Nonmetric Cranial Trait Variation and Ancestry Estimation in Asian and Asian-Derived Groups |
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Authors: | Megan L. Atkinson B.S. Sean D. Tallman Ph.D. |
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Affiliation: | 1. Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, 72 E Concord Street, L1004, Boston, MA, 02118;2. Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, 72 E Concord Street, L1004, Boston, MA, 02118 Department of Anthropology, Boston University, 233 Bay State Rd, Boston, 02215 MA |
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Abstract: | Traditionally, precontact Native Americans and Asian groups have been conflated for aspects of the biological profile due to their distantly shared genetic history, although this grouping remains largely unexplored. This study examines craniomorphic variability to ascertain whether Asian groups can be differentiated from each other and from Asian-derived groups using more fine-tuned models. Cranial and mandibular data for 35 nonmetric traits were recorded on precontact Native Americans (n = 150) and modern Japanese (n = 150) and Thai (n = 150) individuals. Chi-square analyses indicate that all groups exhibit statistically significant differences in most traits. Additionally, cross-validated binary logistic regression equations resulted in correct classification rates in the range of 65.0–93.3% and demonstrate that sex does not contribute to statistical models. Therefore, numerous traits provide discriminatory resolution that detects differences between the samples, thus highlighting the potential utility of nonmetric traits in identifying individuals beyond the traditional African, European, and Asian forensic ancestry groupings. |
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Keywords: | forensic science forensic anthropology biological profile ancestry estimation nonmetric traits Asian and Asian-derived groups |
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