Abstract: Researchers generally identify a skeleton’s sex by looking at size and robustness of the skull, but with this approach it is often difficult to acquire subtle anatomical and shape differences. In order to get more information to identify sex, we use 3D laser scanning and image processing software to extract outline information of 30 male and 30 female modern human skulls unearthed from tombs about 300 years ago in Yunnan Province. Geometric morphometrics are used to analyze the sexual dimorphism in the cross-section outlines of these male and female skulls. Results show that male and female skulls have no significant differences in the outlines of coronal and mid-sagittal sections of the parietal and occipital bone, but have significant differences in the mid-sagittal section of the frontal bone. This study establishes a new method of sex determination in physical anthropology and paleoanthropology.

Key words: Modern; Human; Skull; Sex determination; Morphometrics