Sex and ancestry estimation of South African crania using 3D-ID
Date
2020
Authors
Lottering, Tamara Leigh
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Computer programs using osteometrics for sex and ancestry estimation have become more
popular. The programs 3D-ID and FORDISC, compare data from an unknown individual with an
existing database representing various populations. These programs are traditionally used in
American cases, however, there is a need to expand the application of these programs for
international use. The aim of this study was thus to assess how accurately 3D-ID estimates sex and
ancestry for a South African sample as well as to compare these results from 3D-ID to results from
FORDISC. A total of 450 South African Black (SAB), South African Coloured (SAC) and South
African White (SAW) crania were digitised using a Microscribe 3-DX digitiser. Sex and ancestry
were estimated using 3D-ID and FORDISC. 3D-ID achieved a range of accuracies (44.0% to
93.3%) for sex estimation, with females achieving the highest. It was found that 3D-ID classified
SAB individuals as African American or European Southwestern, SAC individuals as European
Southwestern, and SAW individuals as European American and European Southwestern.
FORDISC achieved sex accuracies ranging from 66.7% to 100.0% and a range of ancestry
accuracies with the SAC population achieving the lowest accuracies of 26.7% and 42.7%. It was
seen that FORDISC achieved slightly higher accuracies compared to 3D-ID, however this could
be because FORDISC has a custom database for South African individuals, whereas 3D-IDs
database contains no South Africans. Overall, 3D-ID had moderate classifications showing that it
is not an accurate tool for ancestry estimation of South African populations. It would therefore be
beneficial to include South African individuals into the 3D-ID database to achieve increased
accuracies
Description
A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand,
Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Medicine, 2020
Keywords
Citation
Lottering, Tamara Leigh (2020) Sex and ancestry estimation of South African crania using 3D-ID, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, <http://hdl.handle.net/10539/30476>