46 



E. TRINKAUS ETAL. 



Table 1 Results of pelvic discriminant function analysis for Gough's Cave 1 . 



Reference Sample 



Female N 



MaleN 



% Correctly Classified 



Gough's Cave 1 Sex Assignment 



Euroamericans 







pelvic variables 



40 



35 



pelvic and femoral variables 



39 



34 



Afroamericans 







pelvic variables 



42 



40 



pelvic and femoral variables 



41 



39 



Pooled Sample 







pelvic variables 



113 



123 



pelvic and femoral variables 



107 



116 



98.7% 

 100% 



97.6% 

 100% 



95.8% 

 98.7% 



male 

 male 



male 

 female 



male 

 male 



of the obturator foramen all indicate a male. This is supported by its 

 subpubic angle (64°), which is very close to a recent Euroamerican 

 male mean (63.7° ± 7.8°, N = 50) and well below that of a 

 Euroamerican female sample (88.4° ± 8.5°, N = 50) (Tague, 1989) 

 (other recent human samples exhibit similar mean angles and distri- 

 butions for males and females (Tague, 1989)). 



At the same time, the shape of the pelvic inlet is exceptionally 

 round (Trinkaus, 2003: fig. 4), since its dorso-ventral and transverse 

 diameters are equal, providing an index of ca.100. In contrast, a 

 sample of Euroamerican male pelves has a mean index of 79.0 (± 7.9, 

 N = 47) and a female sample has a mean of 83.1 (± 10.0, N = 47) 

 (Tague, 1989). Its outlet index of 104.2 falls between the means of 

 those male and female samples ( 1 1 1 . 1 ± 14. 1 , N = 44 and 99.8 ± 1 1 .0, 

 N = 46, respectively). 



Given the mixed indications of these individual sex characteristics 

 of the Gough's Cave 1 pelvis, we performed a discriminant function 

 analysis of a series of measurements of the pelvis and femur in order 

 to resolve the sex assessment of Gough's Cave 1 . The measurements 

 were selected for overall proportional coverage, preservation and 

 body size indication. Those employed are: sacral ventral height and 

 arc, sacral antero-cranial breadth, pelvic antero-posterior inlet, mid- 

 plane and outlet diameters, bi-iliac breadth, pelvic inlet transverse 

 breadth, minimum bi-acetabular breadth, bi-tuberous (outlet) breadth, 

 sub-pubic angle, and maximum length and head diameter of the 

 femur. The analyses were performed with just the pelvic dimensions 

 and combining the pelvic and femoral dimensions. 



These measurements were compared to three samples. The first 

 was of Euroamericans with documented sex, given the geographical 

 origins of Gough's Cave 1. The second is of Afroamericans of 

 documented sex, given the slightly linear body build of Gough's 

 Cave 1 (Holliday & Churchill, 2003). The last includes the first two 

 samples, plus four samples of Amerindians with skeletally deter- 

 mined sex (see Tague (1989) for sample composition). The analyses 

 were done first using only the modern human reference sample, and 

 Gough's Cave 1 was then included to determine its affinities. 



As can be seen in Table 1, Gough's Cave 1 is assigned to the 

 male sample in all but one case, when the reference sample con- 

 sists of Afroamericans and the femoral variables are included in 

 the analysis. This single exception is almost certainly a result of 

 the slightly linear proportions of the Gough's Cave specimen com- 

 bined with the relatively tall stature of the individuals in that 

 reference sample. 



The Skull 



The overall impression from the Gough's Cave 1 cranium is that of 

 a male. Although we do not have other crania from the same 

 population for comparison, the prominence and volume of the 

 mastoid processes suggest that the cranium is that of a male. A 



further indication that the cranium is male is the presence of a 

 pronounced crest on each suprameatal triangle, which extends the 

 zygomatic process almost as far as the parietal notch. The cranium 

 has marked temporal lines with both the upper and lower temporal 

 lines extending to the lambdoid suture. 



The appearance of the occipital is also that of a robust individual. 

 It has marked superior and inferior nuchal lines and a well-defined 

 external occipital crest. The area of the external occipital protuber- 

 ance is partially obscured by sediment, but it is clearly not a prominent 

 feature. 



The sexually diagnostic features of the upper facial region and 

 frontal bone are ambiguous. The right side of the glabella and right 

 supraorbital margin are partially obscured by a pathological lesion. 

 Based on what can be seen, the glabella is only moderately prominent 

 and the supraorbital ridges are not particularly well-defined. The 

 supraorbital margin is of moderate thickness and sharpness. 



Relative to the overall impression from the cranium the mandi- 

 ble appears to be that of a more gracile individual (for a detailed 

 description of mandibular morphology, see Humphrey & Stringer, 

 2002). The mental protuberance and mental tubercles are not 

 particularly prominent. The gonial region is everted and the areas 

 of attachment of the masseter and medial pterygoid are well 

 defined. 



Buikstra and Ubelaker (1994) emphasised five aspects of cranial 

 morphology that can be useful for sex determination. Each feature is 

 scored on a five-point scale, with higher values representing more 

 robust masculine features. A score of 1 indicating a probable female, 

 a score of 5 indicating a probable male and a score of 3 indicating that 

 the feature is ambiguous. The scores for the Gough's cave cranium 

 for each of the five sexually diagnostic structures are: 



Robusticity of nuchal crest: 5; size of the mastoid process: 5; 

 sharpness of the supraorbital margin: 2; prominence of the glabella: 

 3; and projection of the mental eminence: 2-3. 



The skull therefore presents a mixture of robust and gracile 

 characteristics. The most masculine features relate to the attachment 

 of the nuchal and temporal musculature, while the supraorbital 

 region and mandible present features that are not obviously mascu- 

 line or feminine. 



The Gough's Cave 1 cranium was compared metrically to a 

 sample of European Mesolithic and Late Upper Palaeolithic crania 

 (Humphrey and Stringer, 2002). The crania were measured accord- 

 ing to the system devised by Howells (1973). A total of 39 cranial 

 measurements were made of Gough's Cave and the comparative 

 sample included only crania on which the same set of measurements 

 could be taken. Principal components analysis of 39 cranial dimen- 

 sions suggests that Gough's Cave 1 is male (Humphrey & Stringer, 

 2002). A stepwise discriminant analysis using the same comparative 

 sample classifies Gough's Cave 1 as male (Humphrey & Stringer, 

 2002). 



