Physical anthropologists are often called upon to identify skeletal remains; this may be for archaeological or forensic remains. Due to substantial individual and populational variation, the reliability of such attempts is rather limited. Moreover, much practice and guidance is required to achieve reliable conclusions. The following is meant to provide only some familiarity with the methods employed.

While virtually all bones display some sexual dimorphism, the pelvis is the most reliable for identification. Using the skull alone is less accurate. In cases of adult crania with which there is neither lower jaw, nor any other part of the skeleton, the diagnosis is about 80 percent reliable. This proportion rises to 90 percent where a well-preserved lower jaw is present; and will reach 96 to 98 percent when a whole skeleton is present. Although there will still remain skeletons which, even though complete, show such ambiguous sexual characteristics that it will be impossible to identify them as either male or female with certainty. The following are cranial traits used in sex assessment:

Cranium

Mandible