In Forensic Anthropology, the identification and individualization of skeletonized remains is important and includes the identification of an individual’s sex, age, and ancestry.  Over the years, Stockton has received various skulls through donations.  In an effort to gain more information, this study examined and measured these skulls.  Initial non-metric examination was used to create a hypothesis about the sex, age, and ancestry of the skulls.  Measurements were taken to test the hypothesis.  The measurements were then entered into a statistical database, ForDisc 3.0, that uses discriminant function analyses (DFA) to evaluate the unknown remains’ sex and ancestry.

     For this study, three human skulls were examined.  Skull A was hypothesized to be an African American female.  This skull has more gracile and feminine features.  ForDisc supported this hypothesis (81.8% probability). Skull B was hypothesized to be a male of mixed ancestry.  This skull’s features are robust; it has a prominent brow ridge and occipital protuberance.  Malar tubercles are present; this feature is most commonly found in people of Asian or Indigenous American ancestry.  ForDisc results indicate that the measurements are too dissimilar in all ancestral categories.  In the DFA graph, Skull B appears in three overlapping categories: White, African American, and Indigenous American.  Skull C is believed to be an African American male.  This skull features more robust features, like large mastoid processes and a large mandible.  When measurements were entered into ForDisc, the category of African American male had the highest probability (62.2%) supporting the hypothesized sex and ancestry.