Sex discrimination is crucial in an anthropological examination. Researchers investigated the usefulness of different skeletal elements in sex determination in various populations using a range of variables and a variety of techniques. Each population needs its own specific and updated standards due to the differences in skeletal morphology. The present study aims to examine the importance of the mandible in sex discrimination of a north Indian population. A total of 190 adult mandibles (M:F:145:45) from the Department of Forensic Medicine, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India were collected. Five variables were measured and discriminant function analysis was performed using SPSS 16.00. The sex classification accuracies ranged from 48.9% to 67.4% for single variables. The highest sexing accuracy (71.6%) was achieved in stepwise analysis with the selection of 3 variables. In conclusion the variables selected for the present study were not suitable for forensic and archeological investigation. It is suggested that these variables must be examined on other populations to see their utility.
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