Abstract
Skeletal sexual dimorphism presents itself in humans primarily through the anatomical shape of the cranium and pelvis. However, some physical anthropologists maintain that climate could have an effect on human sexual dimorphism. Despite ongoing research pertaining to climatic effects on soft tissue or size dimorphism, little to no research has looked how climate affects nonmetric skeletal indicators of sex. To further understand the plasticity of the human skeleton, standard sex indicators of the cranium and pelvis in two populations of differing climatic stress (a Native Alaskan sample and a portion of the Terry Black collection) were compared and assessed for statistical significance. The results of this study indicate that the relationship between climate and sexual dimorphism is more complicated than initially understood and requires more research to understand the complex relationships between climate, life history, and the human skeleton. This study opens discussions of how many factors, including climate, nutrition, stress, and disease, could affect standard forensic and archaeological procedures and potentially produce more accurate skeletal assessment in the future.