Year of Award

2021

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

Master of Arts (MA)

Degree Name

Anthropology (Forensic Anthropology Option)

Department or School/College

Anthropology

Committee Chair

Dr. Randall Skelton

Commitee Members

Dr. Gregory Campbell, Dr. Gilbert Quintero

Keywords

Frontal Sinus, Forensic Anthropology, Biological Profile, Forensics

Subject Categories

Other Anthropology

Abstract

The frontal sinus is a cavity located in the frontal bone and is completely unique to every individual. The morphology is influenced by a number of factors, such as environment, genetics, and perimortem injury. This study focuses on the role that ancestry, sex, and age play in the appearance of this feature; the morphology and shape of an individual’s frontal sinus is influenced by their sex and ancestry to some degree. The following analysis observes the relationship between the maximum width (MW), maximum depth (MD), degree of asymmetry (DOA), and maximum height (MH) of the frontal sinus and the individual’s sex, age, andancestry. MW, MD, and MH correlate with one another when taking the sex of the individual into account and the DOA is affected by the ancestry of the individual. Males, on average, present with greater MW, MH, and MD than females; females in this study presented with left side dominance of the frontal sinus more often than males. The Black individuals included in the study presented with right side dominance of the frontal sinus more often than White individuals. Age did not play a role in the size of the frontal sinus and does not appear to greatly influence any of the measurements. The information regarding sex and ancestry can be taken into account when creating a biological report and included in the estimation of the individual’s identifying traits.

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