Skip to main content

ETHNOS_APP

Home • Search • Journals • List 0

Sex determination of human remains from peptides in tooth enamel

Bibliographic Data

ID23344583
AuthorsNicolas A Stewart (0000-0002-8969-4242, University of Brighton, corresponding author), Raquel F Gerlach (0000-0002-7031-2128, Universidade de São Paulo), Rebecca L Gowland (0000-0002-5909-6460, Department of Archaeology, Durham University, Durham DH1 3LE, United Kingdom), K J Gron (0000-0002-0415-2891, Durham University), J Montgomery (0000-0001-6729-3088, Department of Archaeology, Durham University, Durham DH1 3LE, United Kingdom)
Year2017
Volume114
Issue52
Pages13649-13654
Publication date2017-12-26
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0027-8424 • E-ISSN: 1091-6490
PublisherNational Academy of Sciences (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1073/pnas.1714926115
PMID29229823
OpenAlexW2772257386
LanguageEN
Citations received71
References cited12

Significance The ability to assign biological sex to human skeletal remains is a fundamental requirement in archaeology, paleoanthropology, and medico-legal sciences. While DNA sequencing can be used, it is expensive, time-consuming, and often fails due to the poor quality of the remaining DNA. An easier, more reliable, and consistently applicable method is needed. We present a method for sex determination of human remains using peptides retrieved from tooth enamel. Amelogenin is an enamel-forming protein encoded for by both chromosomes X and Y, with slight differences in their amino acid sequences. Peptides with these differences were identified by nanoflow liquid chromatography mass spectrometry and found to correctly assign sex to archaeological human remains of various chronological ages, from hundreds to thousands of years old.

Amelogenin · Biological evolution · Biology · Computational biology · Dental enamel · DNA · Enamel paint · Evolutionary biology · Hominidae · Human tooth · Paleoanthropology · Tooth enamel · Bone and Dental Protein Studies · Chemistry · Dentistry · Forensic and Genetic Research · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies · Genetics · Medicine · Paleontology

  • Tracing sex in deep time

    Open Access•Amanda Gutiérrez-Carbajal, Guillermo Carrillo-Martin et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science…•2026

  • Non-Binary and Intersex Visibility and Erasure in Roman Archaeology

    Open Access•Miller Power•Theoretical Roman Archaeology…•2020

  • Youth Mobility, Migration, and Health Before and After the Black Death

    Mary Lewis, J Montgomery•Bioarchaeology International•2022

  • Emerging Adolescence

    L C Avery, L Avery et al.•Bioarchaeology International•2023

  • A comparison of osteological and mass spectrometry-based sex estimation methods

    Open Access•Andrea M Zurek-Ost, Emma J Bonthorne et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science…•2026

  • Amely deletion is not detected in systematically sampled reference populations

    Open Access•Glendon J Parker, Tammy Buonasera et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science•2021

  • Social Relations, Deprivation and Violence at Schleinbach, Lower Austria. Insights from an Interdisciplinary Analysis of the Early Bronze Age Human Remains

    Open Access•D Pany-Kucera, Michaela Spannagl-Steiner et al.•Archaeologia Austriaca•2020

  • The Cro-Magnon babies

    Open Access•Caroline Partiot, E Trinkaus et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science…•2020

  • Exploring dental macrowear in a Sambaqui population from Encosta da Lagoa (southern Brazil)

    Open Access•Antonietta Del Bove, Owen Alexander Higgins et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science…•2026

  • Peace in Unexpected Places

    Open Access•Caroline Partiot, Lilli Zabrana•Childhood in the Past•2026

  • In-situ digestion and micro-destructive sampling for dental proteomic sex determination analysis using polyvinylalcohol-based gel

    Open Access•Enrico Greco, Matteo Battistella et al.•Journal of Cultural Heritage•2026

  • Cirvis sieviešu dzimtes indivīdu 8.–9. gadsimta apbedījumos latgaļu un sēļu apdzīvotajā teritorijā Latvijā

    Guntis Gerhards, Antonija Vilcāne et al.•Arheoloģija un etnogrāfija•2024

  • Ancient biomolecular analysis of 39 mammoth individuals from Kostenki 11-Ia elucidates Upper Palaeolithic human resource use

    Open Access•Alba Rey-Iglesia, Alba Rey‐iglesia et al.•Quaternary Environments and Humans•2025

  • Environmental correlates of growth patterns in Neolithic Liguria (northwestern Italy)

    Open Access•Irene Dori, Alessandra Varalli et al.•International Journal of…•2020

  • Multi-proxy stable isotope analyses of dentine microsections reveal diachronic changes in life history adaptations, mobility, and tuberculosis-induced wasting in prehistoric Liguria (Finale Ligure, Italy, northwestern Mediterranean)

    Open Access•Gwenaëlle Goude, Irene Dori et al.•International Journal of…•2020

  • Differential diagnosis of metabolic disease in a commingled sample from 19th century Hisban, Jordan

    Open Access•Megan A Perry, Emily Edwards et al.•International Journal of…•2021

  • Warfare, Labor, and Urban Stress

    Open Access•Júlia Olivé-Busom, Júlia Olive‐Busom et al.•International Journal of…•2026

  • Biological sex VS. Archaeological Gender

    Open Access•Anthony Gasparini, Federico Lugli et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science…•2022

  • An unusual case of prone position in the Punic/Roman necropolis of Monte Luna in Sardinia (Italy)

    Open Access•Rossella Paba, Dario D’Orlando et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science…•2023

  • Ancient DNA and paleoproteomic analysis on Roman Imperial-era individuals from Histria, Romania

    Open Access•Sterling L Wright, Kristen M Rayfield et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science…•2024

  • Stable isotope and proteomic insights into Bronze age human dietary life history at Köhne Shahar, Northwest Iran

    Open Access•J W Eerkens, Sepideh Asgari et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science…•2024

  • Exploring prenatal and neonatal life history through dental histology in infants from the Phoenician necropolis of Motya (7th–6th century BCE)

    Open Access•Beatrice Peripoli, Melania Gigante et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science…•2023

  • Sex-related morbidity and mortality in non-adult individuals from the Early Medieval site of Valdaro (Italy)

    Open Access•Federico Lugli, C Figus et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science…•2020

  • Advancing sex estimation from amelogenin

    Open Access•Julia A Gamble, Victor Spicer et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science…•2024

  • Exploring Hypotheses on Early Holocene Caspian Seafaring Through Personal Ornaments

    Open Access•Solange Rigaud, Alain Queffelec et al.•Open Archaeology•2023

  • The Early Bronze Age grave from the site of Svinjaricka cuka, South-Eastern Serbia

    Open Access•Aleksandar Bulatović, Ernst Pernicka et al.•Starinar•2025

  • Sex estimation based on the analysis of enamel peptides

    Open Access•Iztok Štamfelj•Journal of Archaeological Science•2021

  • NOthing goes to WAste (Nowa)

    Open Access•Carmen Esposito, Owen Alexander Higgins et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science•2024

  • Immune proteins recovered in tooth enamel as a biochemical record of health in past populations

    Open Access•Tammy Buonasera, J W Eerkens et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science•2024

  • Sex estimation using sexually dimorphic amelogenin protein fragments in human enamel

    Open Access•Glendon J Parker, Julia M Yip et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science•2018

  • Speed-E

    Open Access•Timothy P Cleland, Andrew Mcguire et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science•2024

  • Gendered burial practices of early Bronze Age children align with peptide-based sex identification

    Open Access•Katharina Rebay-Salisbury, Patricia Bortel et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science•2022

  • Proteomic sexing of archaeological cattle remains at Neolithic Kilshane

    Open Access•Michael Buckley, Fabienne Pigière et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science•2024

  • Women, residential patterns and early social complexity. From theory to practice in Copper Age Iberia

    Open Access•Marta Cintas-Peña, Leonardo García Sanjuán•Journal of Anthropological…•2022

  • Puberty in medieval Veranes

    Open Access•Danielle M Doe, Josefina Rascón Pérez et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science…•2025

  • Sexing remains of a Byzantine ascetic burial using enamel proteomics

    Open Access•Paula Kotli, David Morgenstern et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science…•2025

  • Interpreting Past Human Mobility Patterns

    Open Access•Samantha Reiter, Karin Margarita Frei•European Journal of Archaeology•2019

  • To Gender or not To Gender? Exploring Gender Variations through Time and Space

    Open Access•Bisserka Gaydarska, Katharina Rebay-Salisbury et al.•European Journal of Archaeology•2023

  • Reconstructing life history and ancestry from poorly preserved skeletal remains

    Open Access•Owen Alexander Higgins, Francesco Fontani et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science•2025

  • Base – BAsicranial Sex Estimation

    Open Access•Alexandra Boucherie, C Polet et al.•Cahiers du Centre de recherches…•2025

  • Undertaking the biological sex assessment of human remains

    Open Access•Jaroslav Brůžek, Ivan Mikšík et al.•Journal of Cultural Heritage•2023

  • Twenty-first century bioarchaeology

    Open Access•J E Buikstra, N Dewitte et al.•American Journal of Physical…•2022

  • Materializing gender in Iberian prehistory

    Open Access•Alejandra Sánchez-Polo, Angélica Santa Cruz Del Barrio et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science…•2026

  • Diet, mobility and gendered violence

    Open Access•Katharina Rebay-Salisbury, L Waltenberger et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science…•2026

  • Porous skeletal lesions and respiratory infection-related changes in Chalcolithic non-adults

    Open Access•Sonia Díaz‐navarro, Ana Luisa Santos et al.•International Journal of…•2026

  • Gender identities in the prehistoric societies of south-eastern Iberia

    Open Access•Manuel Velasco Suarez, Gonzalo Aranda Jiménez et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science•2026

  • Weaning, parturitions and illnesses are recorded in rhesus macaque ( Macaca mulatta ) dental cementum microstructure

    Open Access•Paola Cerrito, Leonardo Cerrito et al.•American Journal of Primatology•2021

  • Bioarchaeological Approaches to the Study of Adolescence

    L C Avery, T Prowse et al.•Childhood in the Past•2022

  • Pre-Hispanic Periods and Diet Analysis of the Inhabitants of the Quito Plateau (Ecuador)

    Open Access•Roberto Ordoñez-Araque, Jenny Ruales et al.•Heritage•2022

  • Juvenile sex estimation using the elevation of the auricular surface

    Open Access•Maura K Griffith, Carolyn Rando•International Journal of…•2024

  • Metaproteomic approaches to ancient foodways

    Open Access•Miranda Evans•Journal of Archaeological Science•2025

  • Una contribución a la problemática del sexo bioantropológico mediante análisis proteómico del esmalte dental de restos humanos de la Prehistoria reciente de la submeseta norte ibérica

    Open Access•Ángel Esparza Arroyo, J Velasco‐vázquez et al.•Trabajos de Prehistoria•2022

  • Sex and Gender in the Mesolithic

    Open Access•K J Gron, Christopher Meiklejohn et al.•Proceedings of the Prehistoric…•2022

  • Biomolecular Archaeology and Medieval Studies

    Open Access•Janet E Kay, Alexandra Johnson et al.•Speculum•2026

  • Sex estimation of teeth at different developmental stages using dimorphic enamel peptide analysis

    Open Access•Rebecca L Gowland, Nicolas A Stewart et al.•American Journal of Physical…•2021

  • The Late Mesolithic juveniles of Yuzhniy Oleniy Ostrov, Russia

    Open Access•O V Batanina, Olga Batanina et al.•Archaeological and Anthropological…•2026

  • An assessment of puberty status in adolescents from the European Upper Paleolithic

    Open Access•Mary Lewis, Mary E Lewis et al.•Journal of Human Evolution•2025

  • Sex-biased sampling may influence Homo naledi tooth size variation

    Open Access•Lucas K Delezene, Jeremiah E Scott et al.•Journal of Human Evolution•2024

  • More Error than Minority

    Open Access•Katharina Rebay-Salisbury, Margit Berner et al.•Cambridge Archaeological Journal•2025

  • Error or Minority? The Identification of Non-binary Gender in Prehistoric Burials in Central Europe

    Open Access•Eleonore Pape, Nicola Ialongo•Cambridge Archaeological Journal•2024

  • Understanding the maternal-infant nexus from dental histology and high-resolution compositional biogeochemistry

    Open Access•Alessia Nava•Cahiers du Centre de recherches…•2024

  • Peptide and osteological evidence for sex bias in megalithic tombs of La Lora region, Northern Iberia

    Open Access•Angélica Santa Cruz, Teresa Fernández-Crespo et al.•Archaeological and Anthropological…•2026

  • Challenges and perspectives on functional interpretations of australopith postcrania and the reconstruction of hominin locomotion

    Open Access•M Cazenave, T L Kivell•Journal of Human Evolution•2023

  • Sex estimation of the adult Neandertal Regourdou 1 (Montignac, France)

    Open Access•Rebeka Rmoutilova, Jaroslav Brůžek et al.•Journal of Human Evolution•2024

  • Living in the middle of the edge

    Open Access•A Willis, Baptiste Pradier et al.•Archaeological and Anthropological…•2025

  • Child murder in the Early Bronze Age

    Open Access•Katharina Rebay-Salisbury, Lukas Janker et al.•Archaeological and Anthropological…•2020

  • Early life histories at medieval Mikulčice (ninth-tenth centuries AD, Czechia) based on carbon and nitrogen profiles of tooth dentine

    Open Access•Sylva Kaupová, Jaroslav Brůžek et al.•Archaeological and Anthropological…•2024

  • Applications of mass spectrometry-based proteomics in archaeology and palaeoanthropology

    Open Access•Rikai Sawafuji, T Tsutaya•Anthropological Science•2020

  • La question de l'utilisation sépulcrale des cavités naturelles par les populations amérindiennes des Petites Antilles

    Open Access•C Partiot, Patrice Courtaud et al.•Cahiers du Centre de recherches…•2020

  • Ethics and applications of isotope analysis in archaeology

    Open Access•C Stantis, Benjamin J Schaefer et al.•American Journal of Physical…•2025

  • Introduction

    A Nowell•Hunter Gatherer Research•2024

  • The Bioarchaeology of Children

    Open Access•Mary Lewis, Mary E Lewis•Bioarchaeology of Children•2006

  • The Bioarchaeology of Children

    Eric J Bartelink•Social History of Medicine•2007

  • Ancient DNA study of the remains of putative infanticide victims from the Yewden Roman villa site at Hambleden, England

    Open Access•Naglaa Abu-Mandil Hassan, Keri A Brown et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science•2014

  • Sex Identification in Some Putative Infanticide Victims from Roman Britain Using Ancient DNA

    Open Access•May, Marina Faerman•Journal of Archaeological Science•2001

  • New techniques for the recovery of small amounts of mature enamel proteins

    Open Access•Isabel Maria Porto, Hélen Julie Laure et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science•2011

  • Greater sciatic notch as a sex indicator in juveniles

    Open Access•Dejana Vlak, Mirjana Roksandic et al.•American Journal of Physical…•2008

  • Sex determination of infant and juvenile skeletons

    Open Access•Holger Schutkowski•American Journal of Physical…•1993

Unique citing works71
Citations per year8,88
Citation span2018 - 2026 (9)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 64
Ethnos_APP • Open Source Project • MIT License • Frontend v2.0.0 • Privacy and Cookies • API Documentation: api.ethnos.app/docs • API Source Code: GitHub • DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17049435 • Frontend Source Code: GitHub • DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17050053 • cruz.rio.br • Expectantes Misericordiae