Interpretation of ante-mortem stature estimates in South Africans

When human skeletal remains of unknown individuals are analysed, the estimation of ante-mortem stature forms a key part of the report. However, for many people it may be difficult to judge the height of their missing relative in metric values. In this paper, we report on the statures of 2052 black, 483 coloured and 880 white South Africans of both sexes, measured during the last few years. It is shown that the statures of whites are significantly higher than those of the other two groups. The statures of the black and coloured groups are similar. It is proposed that the stature estimates provided in forensic reports are interpreted as tall, medium or short, based on whether they fall in the upper 25%, middle 50% or lower 25% of the distribution for the specific population.