Researchers at North Carolina State University (USA) have studied more than two hundred Spanish and Portuguese skulls from the last four centuries and have concluded that the craniofacial differences between men and women are less and less pronounced .
Specifically, the anthropologist Ann Ross and her colleagues have found that since the sixteenth century the differences in the faces of men and women have been blurred. And that the changes have mainly affected women. Specifically, the female facial structure in Spain is much larger today than 400 years ago . Improved nutrition and other environmental factors could explain these modifications, Ross suggests.
Thanks to this study, it will be possible to better establish who owns the ancient bone remains found. ? Being able to tell whether a skull belonged to a man or a woman is useful in both criminal investigation and academic studies ,? concludes Ann Ross in an article published in the journal Forensic Science International .
