Two-Dimensional Wavelet Analysis of Supraorbital Margins of the Human Skull for Characterizing Sexual Dimorphism

The accurate determination of the sex of human skeletal remains is a critical challenge in forensic pathology and skeletal anthropology. The pelvis and the skull are the most commonly used skeletal sites for determining the sex of skeletons. In the skull, the supraorbital region, which includes the supraorbital margin, is considered a specific sexually dimorphic trait. In the traditional approach, sex is determined through visual and tactile assessment. This paper introduces a methodology for the objective quantification of sexually dimorphic features using wavelet transform, which is a multiscale mathematical tool that allows for the measurement of shape variations that are hidden at different scales of resolution. The method was successfully applied for the sex determination of a pilot sample of 3D meshes-digital records of supraorbital morphology. This information can be used by experts to improve the accuracy of biologic profile assessment of a human skeleton, and to describe the geographic and temporal variations within and among populations.