Pilot study to estimate sex by canine odontometrics in a Colombian population sample

Abstract

Forensic humanitarian work occurring both in the judicial context, and in the novel extrajudicial model implemented in Colombia as a result of the peace treaty signed between the Colombian government and the FARC, requires the creation of new demographic standards for the Colombian population in the context of the forensic identification. In this paper we describe a new forensic demographic standard, consisting of a quantitative technique to estimate the sex of human remains resulting from the armed conflict, by measuring canine teeth in a sample of 162 adult individuals that belong to the contemporary Colombian skeletal reference collection that belongs to the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences in Bogotá D.C. The results of the new technique indicate that the sex was correctly estimated in 82.1% of the cases when using upper canines, and it was correctly estimated in 77.8% of the cases when using lower canines. In the context of human rights violations, the fact that the Colombian conflict has resulted in about 120,000 disappeared, has led to the implementation of transitional justice measures based on a comprehensive justice system of truth, reparation and non-repetition. From the forensic arena, we propose a new methodology for sex estimation as a way to contribute to the process of justice, truth and reparation.

Keywords

• Sexual dimorphism canine teeth
• Sex estimation
• Human forensic standards
• Human rights
• Extrajudicial and humanitarian search