Type of Document	Master's Thesis
Author	Truesdell, Nicole Danielle
URN	etd-04062005-121828
Title	Secular Change in the Skull between American Blacks and Whites
Degree	Master of Arts (M.A.)
Department	Geography & Anthropology
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Mary H. Manhein Committee Chair Paul Farnsworth Committee Member Robert Tague Committee Member
Keywords	racial identification nonmetric analysis secular change
Date of Defense	2005-03-18
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract Biologically, discernable differences exist between and within populations based on environmental and genetic factors. Understanding these differences is necessary in forensic anthropology as biological ancestry is asked of forensic anthropologists when assessing an individual’s biological profile. In order to make this assessment, secular changes in population dynamics need to be tracked. The purpose of this research is to examine nonmetric racial characteristics in the skull between American blacks and whites. This study used twelve nonmetric traits as criteria on two different temporal groups from collections at the Smithsonian Institution (N=408) and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (N=218). Frequencies were calculated, along with chi-squares (p<.05), as a means to assess accuracy of these nonmetric traits and trace secular change over time between American blacks and whites. The results of this study showed a high accuracy with the traits used, with secular change occurring in the same direction. The lower face became narrower over time in all populations, implying same directional change. The implications of this study for race identification of skeletal materials are explored.
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