Supra-Orbital Margin
Definition
The bony rim forming the superior orbital border. Scored 1 (sharp and thin, female) to 5 (rounded and thick, male). Thickness reflects differential hormonal effect on frontal bone robusticity at puberty.
- Location
- Bony rim of superior orbital border
- Scoring range
- 1 (sharp/thin) to 5 (rounded/thick)
- Sharp/thin score
- Associated with female
- Rounded/thick score
- Associated with male
- Cause
- Differential hormonal effect at puberty
Common questions
How reliable is the supra-orbital margin alone for sex estimation?+
Used in isolation it gives only a probabilistic indication because bone thickness at this site varies with population and individual build, so examiners combine it with other skull traits such as the mastoid process, mental eminence, and glabella to reach a composite sex estimate rather than relying on one feature.
Why does puberty specifically drive the difference in supra-orbital thickness?+
Testosterone during male puberty promotes greater bone deposition and thicker muscle attachment sites at the frontal bone margin, while the female pattern retains a comparatively thinner, sharper edge. This is why the trait is unreliable in subadult or peripubertal skeletons, where the hormonal differentiation has not yet completed.
Related terms
- Cranial Robusticity
- The overall size and prominence of bony surface features on the skull, reflecting body size and musculature. Males are on average more...
- FORDISC
- Forensic Discriminant Computer program, developed by Ousley and Jantz at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. Performs discriminant-function analysis on user-supplied craniometric measurements...
- Glabella
- The midline prominence on the frontal bone between the superciliary arches. Scored 1 (flat, female) to 5 (highly prominent, male). Correlated with...
- Gonial Angle
- The angle at the posterior inferior corner of the mandible (gonion) where the ramus meets the body. Males: more acute and everted;...
- Mastoid Process
- The conical projection inferior to the external auditory meatus on the temporal bone. Attachment for sternocleidomastoid and splenius capitis muscles. Scored 1...
- Mental Eminence
- The bony chin prominence of the mandible. Scored 1 (slight, triangular, female) to 5 (pronounced, squared, male). Used both in cranial scoring...
- Nuchal Crest
- The raised area on the posterior occiput at the attachment of the nuchal muscles (trapezius, semispinalis capitis). Scored 1 (smooth, female) to...
- Typicality Probability
- In FORDISC analysis, the probability that the unknown skull is a typical member of the best-matching reference group, based on Mahalanobis distance....
- Walker 2008 Five-Trait Scoring
- A standardised ordinal (1-5 scale) sex estimation system for five cranial traits: mastoid process, nuchal crest, supra-orbital margin, glabella, and mental eminence....