Sex of prehistoric hand-stencil artists can be determined forensic analysis

Credit: University of Liverpool

"This geometric approach is very powerful as it allows us to look at the palm and fingers independently," researcher Patrick Randolph-Quinney said.

(UPI)- Attempts to determine the sex of prehistoric hand-stencil artists have turned up contradicting conclusions. Researchers in England and South Africa suggest focusing on hand size and finger length is unreliable.

To solve the problem, scientists adopted a forensics technique to yield more definitive results. Scientists believe the new analysis strategy can sex 40,000-year-old hand stencils with 90 percent accuracy.

"The problem with focussing on hand size and finger length is that two different shaped hands can have identical linear dimensions and ratios," Patrick Randolph-Quinney, a forensic anthropologist at the universities of Central Lancashire and Witwatersrand, said in a news release. "To capture shape, we applied geometric morphometrics, a technique used in forensic studies that had never been tested on hand stencils before."

Researchers developed the technique by training a computer model to translate 2D stencils into 3D hands. Scientists armed their model with data from known-sex hand stencils and the hands that created them. The model identified series of 2D landmarks linked with hand shape and form, and highlighted the correlations most predictive of sex. [...] UPI.com / Link 2


Actualización: Biometría para saber el sexo de los artistas de la Prehistoria
Las medidas de la palma de la mano podrían revelar la autoría de las manos estarcidas 

Una de las fascinaciones que nos produce el arte paleolítico es la de imaginar a la persona detrás de esos trazos que han resistido al avance de los milenios. Muchas de nuestras preguntas sobre los artistas paleolíticos carecen aún de respuesta, pero un estudio recién presentado en Journal of Archaeological Science parece tener la respuesta para determinar si las abundantes manos en negativo presentes en gran cantidad de cuevas con arte rupestre pertenecen a mujeres o a hombres. La aplicación de la morfometría geométrica a la forma y el tamaño de las manos se ha comprobado con manos estarcidas actuales y ha probado su eficacia en más de un 90%. Esta técnica usada en la ciencia forense actual nos acerca un poquito más a los artistas del Paleolítico...