Population variation in femur subtrochanteric shape.

Area of Science:

• Anthropology
• Forensic Science
• Human Osteology

Background:

• Determining ancestry from proximal femur shape is appealing but faces challenges.
• Issues include skeletal plasticity, population variation, sample selection, and interobserver error.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate proximal femur shape variation within and between diverse populations.
• To examine the influence of environmental variables on femur shape.
• To assess the validity of using proximal femur morphology for ancestry estimation.

Main Methods:

• Analyzed proximal femur shape variation across five groups: American Blacks, American Whites, Hispanics, Native Americans, and Polynesians.
• Examined the impact of subsistence strategy, physical terrain, and geographical region.
• Statistical analysis of morphological data.

Main Results:

• Significant within-group variation in proximal femur shape was observed.
• Geographical location and subsistence strategy significantly affected Native American femur shape.
• Proximal femur shape reliably distinguished Native Americans from American Blacks and Whites.

Conclusions:

• Proximal femur shape exhibits substantial intra-group variability.
• Environmental factors can influence femur morphology, particularly in Native Americans.
• While useful for distinguishing certain groups, the precision of proximal femur analysis for ancestry estimation can be geographically limited.