Sex determination from skeletal remains uses the features of the pelvis and skull that differ most reliably between biological males and females.

The pelvis is particularly informative: the overall shape, the angle of specific landmarks, and the dimensions of the birth canal region differ substantially between males and females in most human populations, reflecting the different functional demands placed on the pelvis in each sex.

Skull features — the prominence of brow ridges, the overall robusticity of the skull, the shape of the chin — provide additional indicators that are less definitive individually but that combine to support a sex determination when they converge on the same result.

Age determination from skeletal remains uses multiple lines of evidence, each of which provides information about specific life stages.