The mandibular ramus flexure in the byzantine skeletons of nicea remains: A singular morphological indicator

Abstract

Loth and Henneberg (1996) described the flexure of the posterior margin of the mandibular ramus at the level of the occlusal plane as a single morphological indicator of sexual dimorphism. Using only this feature, Loth and Henneberg were able to predict sex with 94.2% accuracy in a large sample of mandibles. To test the accuracy of their method, mandibles (n= 24), which are of known sex (male) and age, from the Nicea remains (13th century) were assessed for the presence or absence of mandibular ramus flexure. The results of this study indicated that the mandibular ramus flexure was diagnostic for 91.7% of the males. These results suggest that the presence of the posterior border's flexure of the mandibular ramus can be used as a singular morphological indicator in sex determination.