Anthropological Analysis of the Korean Skulls by Moire Contourography

Han, Seung Ho; Kim, In Beom; Kim, Young Hee; Park, Dae Kyoon; Kim, Dae Woong

Abstract

The patterns of the moir'e fringe were investigated in 178 modern Korean skulls (112 males and 66 females) using moir'e contourography. The analysis of fringe patterns was executed using image analyzer on the photographs taken from anterior, both lateral, posterior and superior aspects. In the anterior aspect, the center of fringe was the glabella. The cotyledon shape of fringe (type I) was the most frequently observed in males (77%), but reverse triangular shape (type II) and rhomboid shape of fringe (type III) were more frequently observed in females. In the lateral aspect, the euryon, the center of fringe, was located at higher (4 mm) and more lateral (3 mm) position in females than in males. The contour patterns were more irregular (type I) in males than in females where the stripes were arranged more concentrically (type II, III). In the posterior and superior aspects, there was no difference between males and females in the shape of fringe patterns. The relative position of the opisthocranion, the center of fringe in the posterior aspect, was high by 35 mm to eye -ear plane on the average in both sexes. The stripes in the superior aspect were arranged concentrically in both sexes, but wider in females than in males. The results of this nonmetrical study suggest that the analysis of the moir'e fringe patterns in the Korean skulls is a new method for sex discrimination in the field of forensic anthopology.