Metric sex differentiation of the pars petrosa ossis temporalis.

The importance of the petrous portion for metric sex determination is a controversial subject in the archaeological and anthropological literature. To achieve a forensically suitable method for sex differentiation, 10 measuring distances were determined on recent forensic material in the form of 410 petrous portions, which had proved to be reliable in the preliminary examinations. The most important findings can be summarized as follows: the petrous portion revealed significant metric sex differences, in particular the width:height index (P < 0.001); the sex differences are age-dependent; differences in the measuring distances on the petrous portion can be observed with regard to their lateral location on either side of the skull; the discrimination analysis allows a correct classification of two-thirds of all petrous portions studied. To some extent, these findings contrast with those already published, but the discrepancies can be attributed primarily to the different composition of the samples used in the respective studies.