Concordance of Two Methods of Assessing “Race” of Human Crania

By

Christy Watterson

Abstract

The objective of this research is to assess the concordance of two widely employed methods for identifying the race of human crania. The methods included were morphological observation (adapted from Gill 1995), and metric measurement as prescribed by the software program Fordisc 2.0. The collections that were from various collections from; the University of Montana, Central Michigan University, University of Michigan, and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. The degree of concordance for the collections were as high as 72 percent and as low as 42 percent. Included in this research is discussion of some of the potential problems with the various methods used to determine race, and why determining race is problematic in itself when examine certain theoretical considerations. My findings, if replicated, will support the idea that the concept of biological “races” as distinct homogenous populations is not supported by the methods available, and that the concept of “race” as biological invalid.