Abstract
The discriminant functions based on permanent tooth crown measurements of adult skeletons sexed clearly from the morphology of their hip bones or the record of their sexes were calculated to sex subadult skeletons of each of the Yayoi and the Muromachi groups from the northern Kyushu-Yamaguchi region, and the Recent-Modern groups from the Kyushu and the Kinki region. The probability of these discriminant functions rose from about 70% to 100% as the number of available teeth increased with the ageing of the sexed subadult. The effectiveness of these discriminant functions was examined by using the Recent-Modern subadults whose sexes were recorded. The results of sexing subadults mostly came up to the probability of the discriminant function based on the crown measurements of the corresponding adults. The subadults were also sexed by using each of the most probable discriminant function. As a result, the ratio of correct sexing was 90.9% (n = 11) for the Kyushu region group, 84.6% (n = 26) for the Kinki region group, and 97.3% (n = 37) if the both groups combined together (the western Japan). One of the outcomes of the sexing was that the number of subadult male skeletons excavated from the Kuma-Nishioda Yayoi period site was disproportionately larger than that of the subadult female (male 10, female 3: p = 0.052).
