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5. Various indicators of sexual dimorphism and their efficiency in anthropological studies

Various indicators of sexual dimorphism and their efficiency in anthropological studies

Zimina S.N., Goncharova N.N., Negasheva M.A.

Lomonosov Moscow State University, Department of Anthropology, Moscow

Abstract

Researchers consider the level of sexual dimorphism of various morphological features to be a biological characteristic of a species. The variability of its value in different populations leads us to study the influence of exogenous factors on the degree of sex differences. In modern anthropological works various indices are used as a measure of the degree of sexual dimorphism. They are often difficult to compare and reflect different properties of the characteristic. This article analyzes the efficiency of some of the most frequently used indices of sexual dimorphism. These include the coefficient of sexual dimorphism (ID) and the t-test, which are similar to each other and are based on the ratio between the difference in the mean values of the characteristics in male and female groups and the variance of these characteristics. The other two studied indicators – the D-index and the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test (KS) – are based on calculating the maximum difference between the integral curves of the characteristics distribution. The D-index is based on a theoretical model of distribution, while the KS criterion uses empirical data, which makes it more accurate. Our study showed that among the studied indices, the ID is the most convenient indicator of sexual dimorphism. An important biological aspect of sexual differences of morphological characteristics is the variability of the studied trait within a homogeneous group. As an additional characteristic, the indicator ΔCV can be used to study the effect of this variability on the degree of sexual dimorphism, which is calculated as the difference in the coefficients of variation.

Keywords

physical anthropology, sexual dimorphism, statistical indices, sex differences, Bennett index

Цит.: Zimina S.N., Goncharova N.N., Negasheva M.A. Various indicators of sexual dimorphism and their efficiency in anthropological studies // Moscow University Anthropology Bulletin (Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Seria XXIII. Antropologia), 2017; 2/2017; с. 4-11