Every time archaeologists find the remains of ancient people, they often try to determine who belongs to bones – a man or a woman. But how do scientists get this information? Livescience.com information portal speakThe method of experts specifies the gender of ancient people.
To set this skeleton or this skeleton, experts often pay attention to the difference in form and size of certain bones. Typically, the measurements of long, thin bones, such as the femur and bone, are done for this, then use statistical methods.
The average men are 15% greater than women, but scientists need to take into account many variables that can affect the size of the body: from diet and genetics to disease and environment history. Even among the representatives of the same gender, sometimes the strong difference is quite strong.
Most techniques based on clear measurements show that men are larger and higher than women-the accuracy of the result in this way is 80-90%. However, if the skeleton has a well -preserved hip bone, the statistics and forecast are useless. Researchers can use a more accurate process – such Phoenis method.
The Phoenis method was named after the anthropologist proposed it in the 1960s. It involves clarifying the gender of the skeleton on the pelvis, because in men and women, it is a bit different. If it is higher, it is likely, the skeleton belongs to a man, and if wider – then a woman. An experienced archaeologist, who owns this method, can predict a skeleton with an accuracy of 95%.
DNA analysis is a fairly accurate method to get information; It involves determining the gene variant, which is associated with enamel production. Laboratory analysis allows you to achieve 99% accuracy, even when the skeleton is ancient. But here, it is important to remember that DNA will degrade over time, so not all found can be studied in this way.
At the same time, many archaeologists believe that, despite the high accuracy of the Phoenis method, it ignores many other nuances of biological gender that comes from the interaction of chromosomes, hormones, genital glands and gametes. Therefore, about 1.7% of the human population shows signs of alternating. For example, adrenal hyperplasia leads to too much production of male hormones, which is why women's genitals may look blurred. And Cleinfelter syndrome, or Xxy chromosome, is manifested in decreased testicles and expanded chest in men.
In other words, research on the skeleton and certain techniques allows scientists to make some predictions and receive information about one person, but they will not tell you who he is throughout his life.