Sexual Dimorphism in Skeletal Remains with Variable Degrees of Preservation—A Preliminary Study

Background/Objectives: When analyzing human skeletal remains for human identification, the assessment of sexual dimorphism is fundamental because it underlies sex estimation, a key parameter of the biological profile, which reduces the number of candidates to approximately one half. Ideally, the most dimorphic bones (the pelvis and long bones) are used, but this analysis may be compromised when the skeletal remains are badly preserved, which is often the case in older skeletons. It is, therefore, necessary to investigate sexual dimorphism in alternative skeletal elements as the quantity and quality of bone structures present in ancient skeletons represent crucial aspects when assessing biological differences between the sexes. The present study aims to evaluate the degree of sexual dimorphism in selected skeletal elements as a preliminary step toward identifying sexually dimorphic parameters with potential applicability in future research on poorly preserved skeletons. Methods: A metric assessment of sexual dimorphism was performed on the clavicle, sternum, and seventh cervical vertebra from a 20th Century collection of identified skeletons from the Portuguese population from CESPU (CEIC), showing a variable degree of bone preservation. Results: Our preliminary data suggest that although all bones analyzed may have exhibited some degree of sexual dimorphism, five parameters—sternal body length, manubrium width, first stern-vertebrae width, clavicle maximum length, and cervical vertebral body height—showed the most promising results. Nevertheless, further studies are needed to validate these observations, using a bigger sample of badly preserved bones. Conclusions: These results represent a preliminary assessment of sexually dimorphic parameters, which may be of interest in circumstances where skeletal elements are poorly preserved.