Pelvic Scarring: What Can it Tell Us?

Over a span of almost 60 years, pelvic scarring has been extensively studied with the intention of developing or refining methods for biological profile estimation. Despite this, some challenges persist in linking pelvic scarring with specific biological variables, necessitating continued investigation to enhance forensic and anthropological methodologies. This thesis re-examines the potential associations between biological factors and pelvic scar sites, using samples from the Texas State Donated Skeletal Collection (n = 220). Where required, validation analyses were later conducted using individuals from the Spitalfields collection (n = 86). This research identified significant relationships between biological sex and scar sites, introducing a novel metric-based sex estimation method using the approximate volumes of the preauricular sulcus and newly defined inferior interosseous cavity. This method achieved 97.1% accuracy in the development sample, with 90.7% accuracy upon validation. In revisiting the debated link between pelvic scarring and obstetric events, significant associations were observed with all scar features in the combined sex sample. However, excluding males reduced statistical obstetric significance, except for the preauricular sulcus and superior interosseous cavity. Finally, this study examined the impact of age, height, and weight on pelvic scarring, identifying only a small number of weak associations across both full and single-sex samples. This research highlights the consistent sexual dimorphism of pelvic scarring, with particularly high accuracy and forensic potential demonstrated in posterior pelvic scar analysis. While obstetric events may contribute to sulcus development, biological sex plays a more significant role in scar formation, whereas the superior interosseous cavity appears most affected by pregnancy-related biomechanical stress. In contrast, age, height, and weight were not found to significantly influence pelvic scar presentation for the purposes of biological profile estimation. Overall, this research advances forensic anthropology by providing a more accurate and accessible method for sex estimation, while also deepening current understanding of pelvic scar formation. Furthermore, while designed for practical application, the method also offers scope for future refinement through advanced technologies such as 3D imaging and machine learning, supporting continued innovation in forensic and archaeological analysis.