Egyptian Journal of Forensic Sciences (2014) 4, 716

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Egyptian Journal of Forensic Sciences

journal homepage: www.ejfs.org

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Stature estimation from footprint measurements

in Indian Tamils by regression analysis
a,*
T. Nataraja Moorthy , Ahmad Mustaqqim Bin Mostapa a, R. Boominathan b,
N. Raman b

a
Forensic Science Program, University Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia
b
VHNSN College, Madurai Kamaraj University, Virudhunagar, India

Received 5 June 2013; revised 22 September 2013; accepted 29 October 2013

Available online 5 December 2013

KEYWORDS Abstract Stature estimation is of particular interest to forensic scientists for its importance in
Forensic science; human identication. Footprint is one piece of valuable physical evidence encountered at crime
Forensic anthropology; scenes and its identication can facilitate narrowing down the suspects and establishing the identity
Stature estimation; of the criminals. Analysis of footprints helps in estimation of an individuals stature because of the
Footprint; existence of the strong correlation between footprint and height. Foot impressions are still found at
Indian Tamils crime scenes, since offenders often tend to remove their footwear either to avoid noise or to gain a
better grip in climbing walls, etc., while entering or exiting. In Asian countries like India, there are
people who still have the habit of walking barefoot. The present study aims to estimate the stature
in a sample of 2,040 bilateral footprints collected from 1,020 healthy adult male Indian Tamils, an
ethnic group in Tamilnadu State, India, who consented to participate in the study and who range in
age from 19 to 42 years old; this study will help to generate population-specic equations using a
simple linear regression statistical method. All footprint lengths exhibit a statistically positive sig-
nicant correlation with stature (p-value < 0.01) and the correlation coefcient (r) ranges from
0.546 to 0.578. The accuracy of the regression equations was veried by comparing the estimated
stature with the actual stature. Regression equations derived in this research can be used to estimate
stature from the complete or even partial footprints among Indian Tamils.
2013 Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Forensic Medicine Authority.

1. Introduction

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +60 97677589/129224610 (HP); fax:

Every part of the body is different in its own way not only
+60 97657515.
within a particular body, but also from other bodies. There
E-mail address: nataraja@kb.usm.my (T. Nataraja Moorthy).
is also a relationship between each part of the body and the
Peer review under responsibility of Forensic Medicine Authority.
whole body. Nothing exemplies this truth more than the rela-
tionship that various parts of the body have to the stature of
an individual.1 In this manner, an individuals footprint may
Production and hosting by Elsevier represent his or her identity. Person identication using foot-
2090-536X 2013 Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Forensic Medicine Authority.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejfs.2013.10.002
8 T. Nataraja Moorthy et al.
prints is also an emerging biometric technique.2 Footprints as
valuable physical evidence available at crime scenes are used to
link the crime to the perpetrator. Footprints can be collected
from almost all types of crime scenes, and the possibility of
their recovery at the scenes of sexual offenses and homicides
is relatively more.3 Characteristic features may provide useful
clues to establishing personal identity whenever complete or
partial footprints are recovered at the crime scene and that
can help in including or excluding the possible presence of
an individual at the scene of the crime.4
Examination of barefoot impressions is important, espe-
cially in Asian countries like India where the majority of the
rural population walk barefoot. This is largely due to socio-
economic and climatic conditions. The partial or complete
footprints can be found on rain covered surfaces; newly waxed
oors; freshly cemented surfaces; moistened surfaces; in dust,
mud, sand, oil, paint; and can be left in blood at the murder
scenes3,5,6 An aspect of human identication that has received
scant attention from forensic anthropologists is the study of
human feet7 and the footprints8 made by the feet. Researchers
have been conducting stature estimation research using foot9
26
and footprints2733 because of the existence of a strong cor-
relation between ones stature and foot size34 From the analy-
sis of footprints, denitive information on many physical
characteristics of the individuals who made them can be re-
trieved. The information on footprint (and foot) morphology
is especially signicant because it elucidates the individuality
of each persons footprints.8,11
Many of these studies were conducted for stature estima-
tion from foot and footprints on mixed populations. The
researchers have cautioned that the people from different re-
gions of a country bear different morphological features
depending upon their geographical distribution and primary
racial characteristics; therefore, a single formula cannot repre-
sent all parts of that country or world.3,30,3538
For the stature estimation from foot/footprint parameters,
the researchers concluded that toes to heel length measurements
in a foot/footprint are more reliable and accurate than from any
other measurements like breadth at ball/heel, big toe breadth/
length, etc.3,12,14,1820,22 This present study aims to estimate
the stature from various footprint length measurements in In-
dian Tamils, an ethnic group in Tamilnadu State, South India.
The linear regression analysis method was used for stature esti-
mation since the reliability and prediction of stature estimation
are more accurate and reliable with the regression analysis
method.38 The investigation revealed that the correlations of
stature with various footprint length measurements from differ-
ent toes to heel in both left and right are high. The accuracy of
regression equations was veried by comparing the estimated
stature with actual stature. The estimated values are found close
to the actual stature values. Scatter graphs were drawn by plot-
ting various footprint length measurements against statures and
scatter graphs analysis showed perfective positive correlation
forming an elliptical pattern of the distribution of values, i.e.
best t lines were obtained in all graphs.
2. Materials and methods
The present study was conducted on consented adult male In-
dian Tamils, an ethnic group residing in Tamilnadu state,
South India. Fig. 1 below depicts the site location, i.e. sampling
point of this research. This study aimed to estimate stature in a
sample of 2,040 bilateral footprints collected from 1,020 adult
male Tamil volunteers of ages ranging between 19 and 42 years
old. The research procedure followed was in accordance with
the approved ethical standards of Universiti Sains Malaysia
Research Ethics Committee (Human). Before the sample col-
lection, information such as subjects name, age, and place of
origin was obtained and recorded.
Those with any apparent disease, orthopedic deformity, in-
jury or disorder were excluded from the study. The subjects
were conrmed to be descendants from three generations of
Tamils to ensure no genetic variation within races that can dis-
rupt the results as stature can be affected by not only environ-
ment, but also genetic makeup. Just prior to research
participation, the subjects were advised to wash their feet with
soap and water. A cleaned plain glass plate of 8 mm thickness
was uniformly smeared with Kores quick drying black dupli-
cating ink 4746 with the help of a footprint roller. The subject
was asked to step with the left foot on an inked glass plate with
minimal pressure. Then the inked foot was placed on an A4
plain white paper kept aside on a uniform surface and thus
the left footprint was transferred. Before lifting the sole from
the paper, anatomical landmarks of the feet were marked on
the papers close to the footprints which are mid-rear heel point
and most anterior point of all toes. Following Robbins27 and
Krishan3, the designated longitudinal axis (DLA) and baseline
(BL) were drawn on the footprints. The DLA is from the pter-
nion (P) landmark at the mid-rear heel margin to the lateral
side of the toe 1 pad margin, the axial line touches the rim
of the pad margin as it passes forward beyond the length of
foot. Base line (BL) is drawn at the rear edge of the foot and
perpendicular to the DLA. The base line extends from the
landmark P at the rear of the heel in both medial lateral direc-
tions while maintaining its perpendicular alignment with the
DLA. Its axis can be determined as marked on the footprint
using the pro-tractor. With the 90L mark on the footprint
placed on the DLA, and the midpoint of the protractor base
at pternion, one automatically has the perpendicular BL by
drawing a line through the pternion along the base of the pro-
tractor. Then ve diagonal footprint length measurements
were taken from the mid-rear heel point (P) to the most ante-
rior point of each left toe (LT1, LT2, LT3, LT4, and LT5). The
left footprint length measurements were designated as PLT1,
PLT2, PLT3, PLT4, and PLT5. The procedure was repeated
for the right footprint and the right footprint length measure-
ments were designated as PRT1, PRT2, PRT3, PRT4, and
PRT5. The landmarks and diagonal length measurements on
the left footprint are shown in Fig. 2. The following are the
diagonal length measurements taken on the left and right foot-
print of each male participant. All footprints and information
relating to participants were coded with sample ID for
anonymity.
2.1. Left and right footprint length measurements
i. PLT1 length, measurement taken from the mid-rear
heel point, pternion (P) to the most anterior point
(LT1) of toe 1 on the left footprint.
ii. PLT2 length, measurement taken from the mid-rear
heel point, pternion (P) to the most anterior point
(LT2) of toe 2 on the left footprint.
Stature estimation from footprint measurements in Indian Tamils by regression analysis 9

iii. PLT3 length, measurement taken from the mid-rear
heel point, pternion (P) to the most anterior point
(LT3) of toe 3 on the left footprint.
iv. PLT4 length, measurement taken from the mid-rear
heel point, pternion (P) to the most anterior point
(LT4) of toe 4 on the left footprint.
v. PLT5 length, measurement taken from the mid-rear
heel point, pternion (P) to the most anterior point
(LT5) of toe 5 on the left footprint.
vi. PRT1 length, measurement taken from the mid-rear
heel point, pternion (P) to the most anterior point
(RT1) of toe 1 on the right footprint.
vii. PRT2 length, measurement taken from the mid-rear
heel point, pternion (P) to the most anterior point
(RT2) of toe 2 on the right footprint.
viii. PRT3 length, measurement taken from the mid-rear
heel point, pternion (P) to the most anterior point
(RT3) of toe 3 on the right footprint.

Figure 1 Map of India showing the sampling point, Tamilnadu State, South India. (Source: http://www.google.com.my/
search?q = india + map + states).
10 T. Nataraja Moorthy et al.

ix. PRT4 length, measurement taken from the mid-rear
heel point, pternion (P) to the most anterior point
(RT4) of toe 4 on the right footprint.
x. PRT5 length, measurement taken from the mid-rear
heel point, pternion (P) to the most anterior point
(RT5) of toe 5 on the right footprint.
2.2. Stature measurement
Stature of each subject was measured in cm nearest to mm by
Seca 213 portable stadiometer following the standard proce-
dure3 Stature is the vertical distance between the vertex and
the oor when the individual was standing barefooted with

Figure 2 Landmarks and diagonal length measurements on left footprint PLT1PLT5, length, measurements taken from the mid-rear
heel point, pternion (P) to the most anterior point of toes LT1LT5 on left footprint. DLA, designated longitudinal axis.
Stature estimation from footprint measurements in Indian Tamils by regression analysis 11

Figure 3 Scatter graphs showing strong positive correlation between various footprint length measurements (PLT1PLT5, PRT1
PRT5) and stature PLT1PLT5, length, measurements taken from the mid-rear heel point, pternion (P) to the most anterior point of toes
LT1LT5 on left footprint. PRT1PRT5, length, measurements taken from the mid-rear heel point, pternion (P) to the most anterior
point of toes RT1RT5 on right footprint.

Table 1 Descriptive statistics of footprint length, stature and frequencies of fth toes contact (PLT5, PRT5) in adult male Indian
Tamils.
Variables N Range MaxMin (cm) Min (cm) Max (cm) Mean (cm) SD

Stature 1020 38.10 152.00 190.10 173.69 4.57

PLT1 1020 6.80 21.30 28.10 24.72 1.02
PLT2 1020 6.60 21.20 27.80 24.63 1.06
PLT3 1020 6.70 20.30 27.00 23.69 1.04
PLT4 1020 6.50 19.30 25.80 22.41 0.97
PLT5 990* 6.40 17.60 24.00 20.67 0.92
PRT1 1020 6.10 21.40 27.50 24.62 1.01
PRT2 1020 6.40 21.20 27.60 24.52 1.06
PRT3 1020 6.40 20.30 26.70 23.60 1.04
PRT4 1020 6.30 19.40 25.70 22.32 0.98
PRT5 994* 6.00 17.50 23.50 20.59 0.90
Min, minimum. Max, maximum. PLT1PLT5, left footprint lengths from anterior point of toes LT1LT5 to mid-rear heel point P. PRT1
PRT5, right lengths from anterior point of toes RT1RT5 to mid-rear heel point P. SD, standard deviation.
*
Fifth toes contact (PLT5, contact: 990, non-contact: 30) (PRT5, contact: 994, non-contact: 26).

Table 2 Means, standard deviations and values of t of bilateral difference (leftright) in footprint measurements in adult male Indian
Tamils.
Measurements (cm) N Mean bilateral dierence (leftright) S.D t-value*
T-1 (PLT1PRT1) 1020 0.10 0.43 7.264
T-2 (PLT2PRT2) 1020 0.11 0.42 8.027
T-3 (PLT3PRT3) 1020 0.09 0.40 7.682
T-4 (PLT4PRT4) 1020 0.09 0.40 6.781
T-5 (PLT5PRT5) 994 0.08 2.97 3.713
PLT1PLT5, left footprint lengths from anterior point of toes LT1LT5 to mid-rear heel point P. PRT1PRT5, right footprint lengths from
anterior point of toes RT1RT5 to mid-rear heel point P. N, number of participants. SD, standard deviation.
*
t-Values are signicant at P < 0.01 level.
12 T. Nataraja Moorthy et al.

the head held in the Frankfurt horizontal plane with eyes look-
Table 3 Linear regression equations for stature estimation
ing forward. The feet were positioned side by side in a standing
through various footprint length measurements in adult male
position, arms by the sides. Heels, buttocks and upper back were
Indian Tamils (N = 1020).
in contact with the wall when the measurement was made. Con-
sidering the diurnal variation in stature, the heights of the sub- Variable Regression equations SEE (cm) R R2
jects were measured approximately at the same time in the PLT1 113.117 + 2.450 PLT1 3.812 0.546 0.298
evening. The diurnal change in height of a person was indicated PLT2 112.502 + 2.485 PLT2 3.730 0.578 0.334
as early as 1726 and the shortening in stature during daytime PLT3 113.899 + 2.524 PLT3 3.748 0.573 0.328
was reported and conrmed by the researchers.39,40 All the mea- PLT4 114.410 + 2.645 PLT4 3.773 0.564 0.318
surements were taken by the author (TN) to avoid inter-obser- PLT5 116.056 + 2.789 PLT5 4.522 0.561 0.315
PRT1 112.148 + 2.499 PRT1 3.802 0.555 0.308
ver error. Each participants stature was measured four times
PRT2 112.902 + 2.479 PRT2 3.741 0.575 0.331
with the support of Forensic Assistant Directors. The rst time
PRT3 115.138 + 2.481 PRT3 3.768 0.566 0.320
the participant was invited to get into the stadiometer, the stat- PRT4 115.579 + 2.603 PRT4 3.791 0.559 0.312
ure was noted by the main author. The participant was then re- PRT5 114.528 + 2.875 PRT5 3.756 0.568 0.323
quested to get down from the stadiometer. The subject was
PLT1PLT5, left footprint lengths from anterior point of toes
asked again to get into the stadiometer for recording the stature.
LT1LT5 to mid-rear heel point P. PRT1PRT5, right footprint
Thus the procedure was repeated four times and nally recorded lengths from anterior point of toes RT1RT5 to mid-real heel point
the concordant stature value in centimeters. P. SEE, standard error of estimate. R, Pearsons correlation
The data were analyzed using PASW Statistics version 18 coefcient. R2, the coefcient of determination. P < 0.001.
(Predictive Analytic Software). Bilateral asymmetry was calcu-
lated for each of the footprint measurements and tested for sig-
nicance using one sample t-test. Pearsons correlation
coefcients between various footprint length measurements
and stature were obtained. The linear regression analysis meth- Table 2 presents the means, bilateral difference (leftright)
od was employed to derive regression equations for stature esti- in footprint lengths, standard deviation, p-values and t-values.
mation from various footprint length measurements since All length measurements show statistically signicant asymme-
stature estimation from footprint length is more accurate and try and T1 and T2 lengths are found to be signicantly more
reliable with regression analysis.38 Regression equations are asymmetric in the sample. The highest t-value was found for
an algebraic expression of regression lines (the linear relation- T2 (8.027) and lowest for T5 (3.713).
ship between two variables) represented by a straight line. The Table 3 presents the linear regression equations for estima-
data were analyzed by using scatter graphs drawn by plotting tion of stature from footprint length measurements in left and
footprint lengths against stature demonstrating the relationship right footprints. The table also shows the Karl Pearsons cor-
between the footprint length and stature as shown in Fig. 3. relation coefcient (R) between stature and bilateral footprint
length measurements for all the subjects. All the correlation
coefcients show positive relationship and statistical signi-
3. Results cance (p < 0.001). The highest correlation coefcient was
noted for PLT5 (0.578) and the lowest correlation coefcient
Table 1 presents the descriptive statistic of stature, left and noted was for PLT1 (0.546). Hence, statistically signicant cor-
right footprint length measurements and frequencies of fth relation coefcients exist between stature and all footprint
toe contact during the footprint developing process in all sub- length measurements. With regard to the coefcient of deter-
jects. The stature ranges from 152.00 to 190.10 cm (mean mination (R2), the predictive accuracy is found to be statisti-
173.69 cm). First toe-heel footprint length measurement cally signicant for stature estimation.
(PLT1, PRT1) is found to be the longest in both right and left The regression line represents the predicted score. It passes
sides. through the exact center of the data in the scatter diagram. It
All left footprint length measurements (PLT1PLT5) were must be remembered that with the help of the regression equa-
found larger than the right footprint lengths (PRT1PRT5). tions alone, perfect prediction is practically impossible. So, an
Thus, it can be interpreted that since the size of the left foot indication is needed to show how inaccurate the prediction
is larger than the size of the right foot in the sample, this indi- might be, i.e., the standard error of estimate (SEE). The SEE
cates statistically signicant bilateral asymmetry. First toe predicts the deviations of the estimated stature from the actual
length measurements (PLT1 and PRT1) are found to be the stature. If the SEE is zero, then there is no variation of the
longest on the right and left footprints. An important nding regression line and the correlation is perfect. Thus, with the
in the investigation was that both the left footprint length help of the SEE it is possible to ascertain how good and how
and the right footprint length measurements gradually de- representative the regression line as a description of the aver-
clined from rst toe-heel to fth toe-heel in left (24.72 age relationship between the two series. The SEE shows a low-
20.67 cm) footprint and right (24.6220.59 cm) footprint. The er value while estimating the stature from all bilateral footprint
degree of decrease between the T4 and T5 of both feet showed length measurements. Standard errors ranged between 3.730
a higher difference compared with the difference from T1 to and 3.812 cm. The left toe 2 (PLT2) exhibits the lowest value
T3. This occurred because LT5 of 30 subjects and RT5 of 26 of SEE and the left toe 1 (PLT1) exhibits the highest value
subjects did not make contact with the ground during the foot- of SEE in the subjects.
print development process. This similar phenomenon was ob- All scatter graphs show an elliptical pattern of distribution
served in other footprint studies.31,33,37,41 of values. The analysis of the scatter diagram indicated a
strong positive correlation between footprint length measure-
Stature estimation from footprint measurements in Indian Tamils by regression analysis
ments (the independent variable, X) and stature (the dependent
variable, Y).
4. Discussion
India is a land of enormous genetic, cultural and linguistic
diversity42 Tamils or Tamil people are an ethnic group native
to Tamilnadu, India. Tamilnadu, literally Land of Tamils,
lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula. It is
bound by the Eastern Ghats in the north, the Anamalai Hills
and Palakkad on the west, by the Bay of Bengal in the east,
the Gulf of Mannar in the Pak Strait in the south-east and
by the Indian Ocean in the south. Tamilnadu State has been
the home of the Tamil people since at least 500 BCE and the
language is Tamil and has a long tradition of culture. The bor-
dered States have different populations viz. Malayalees in Ker-
ala State, Telugus in Andhra Pradesh State and Kannadas in
Karnataka State with varying culture, climate, food habits
and languages. Limited studies were conducted on footprint
for stature estimation in India. The result of this study pro-
vided regression equations for the stature estimation from var-
ious bilateral footprint length measurements of Tamils in
South India when complete and even partial footprints are
found at the scenes of crimes for human identication.
The age of the subjects ranged between 19 and 42 years.
Commonly, stature at 18 years is accepted as adult, although
there are small increments in stature after this.43,44 Some
researchers indicated that the foot in a male grows to its adult
size by 16 years of age.45,46 Hence, the minimum age was xed
at 19 years old to conduct this study. The investigation reveals
that the left footprint length measurements are found to be lar-
ger than the right footprint length measurements.
Another salient feature observed was that the mean values
of the footprint length gradually declined from rst toe to fth
toe in both left footprints (24.7220.67 cm) and right foot-
prints (24.6220.59 cm). The degree of decline showed a big
drop from T4 to T5 when compared with T1T3 in both feet.
This occurred because of the fth toe which was found missing
in some of the subjects footprint. The size of the left foot is
larger than the size of the right foot in the sample and indi-
cated the existence of statistically signicant bilateral asymme-
try. This bilateral asymmetry in the lower limbs of Tamils is
consistent with Fawzys study on the Egyptian population,30
Table 4 Comparison of mean male footprint length measurements (cm) between the present study and other studies.
Variables Present study Tamils Gujjars3 Jat Sikh36
(cm) (South India) (North India) (North India)
PLT1 24.72 24.05 27.13
(Longest toe-heel length PLT1 or PLT2)
PLT2 24.63 24.15
PLT3 23.69 23.45
PLT4 22.41 21.88
PLT5 20.67 20.78
PRT1 24.62 24.13 26.26
(Longest toe-heel length RT1 or RT2)
PTR2 24.52 23.93
PRT3 23.60 23.51
PRT4 22.32 21.34
PRT5 20.59 20.09
13
while Krishan found the asymmetry in T-2, T-4 and T-5 on
the Gujjars of North India3 and Kanchan found asymmetry
in T1T3 in the Indian population.33 The mean footprint
length measurements of Tamils showed appreciable size varia-
tion compared with the mean footprint lengths of other popu-
lations like North Indian Jat Sikh, North Indian Gujjar,
Indian, Malaysian Malays and Egyptian. Table 4 shows the
comparison of means of various footprint length measure-
ments of adult males between the present study and other stud-
ies. The rst toe-heel measurements in the present study are
found to be the longest in both right and left sides (PLT1
and PRT1) which is consistent with Egypts. The Gujjars left
second toe (PLT2) and right rst toe (PRT1) are found to be
the longest. The present investigation revealed that the mean
footprint length measurements of Tamils are longer than Gujj-
ars of the North Indian population3, and Malays of Malaysian
population33, but shorter than the mean footprint length of Jat
Sikh of the North Indian population36 and the Egyptian pop-
ulation.30 Thus, the comparison of footprint length measure-
ments clearly indicated that the morphological size of
footprints formed from the feet of Indian Tamils varies consid-
erably from the footprint size of other populations in India
and outside India.
It is common knowledge that right-handed persons prefer to
kick with the right foot, and this has been correlated with the
dominance of the contra-lateral cerebral hemisphere.45 How-
ever, observations recorded by Singh43 and Chhibber47 sug-
gested that in the majority of both right-handed and left-
handed persons, the left lower limb is more used than the right.
These observations include greater wear on the left shoe, a
marked tendency to put the left foot forward rst on starting
to walk, and the ability to apply greater pressure with the left
foot. This in turn enlarges the bones of the dominant foot and
therefore, produces a footprint of larger dimensions.3 Philip
did not nd signicant bilateral asymmetry while working on
the footprints of the south Indian population.1 Robbins also
did not nd signicant bilateral asymmetry in various measure-
ments of the feet of the U.S. population.48 Both researchers sta-
ted that the measurements of most variables in persons left and
right bare footprint are similar enough to permit either the right
or left foot from being used for height and weight examinations.
Another important observation made during the develop-
ment process of the footprint is that the fth toe of some
Egyptian30 Malays37
(Egypt) (Malaysia)
25.31 24.26
(Longest toe-heel length PLT1 or PLT2)
25.16
24.27
23.14
21.49
24.82 24.27
(Longest toe-heel length PRT1 or PRT2)
24.69
23.80
22.67
20.94
14 T. Nataraja Moorthy et al.

Table 5 Comparison of frequencies in non-contact of fth toes on ground during the development process of footprints between male
Indian Tamils and other population (male) studies.
Present study Kanchan33 Nataraja Moorthy37 Sarah Reel31
Frequency % Frequency % Frequency % Frequency %
56 in 1020 5.5 4 in 50 8 10 in 113 8.8 5 in 31 16.1

Table 6 Comparison of estimated stature with actual stature from all footprint length measurements of randomly selected subjects.
No Actual Stature (cm) Estimated stature from various footprint length measurements (cm)
PLT1 PLT2 PLT3 PLT4 PLT5 PRT1 PRT2 PRT3 PRT4 PRT5 Mean
1 172.00 172.13 171.53 171.33 170.99 170.46 172.34 171.74 171.55 171.19 170.61 171.40
2 173.00 173.12 172.52 172.01 172.06 172.04 173.51 172.92 172.94 173.68 173.92 172.87
3 174.00 174.11 173.74 173.80 174.41 174.78 175.65 175.10 174.33 174.10 174.86 174.50
4 175.00 173.91 173.94 174.41 174.20 174.52 174.09 176.05 175.52 175.14 175.81 174.76
5 176.50 174.90 176.15 176.68 176.13 175.65 175.26 176.05 176.12 175.55 174.86 175.74
6 177.00 176.69 176.55 175.86 175.70 176.55 176.23 176.44 175.73 176.39 176.04 176.20
7 178.00 178.08 177.36 178.53 179.14 177.68 177.20 176.64 178.11 178.26 177.67 177.87
8 179.00 177.48 177.96 177.50 177.00 177.46 176.81 177.82 177.12 176.59 176.75 177.25
9 180.00 177.90 177.76 177.30 177.42 177.70 178.80 178.80 177.71 177.22 177.22 177.71
10 181.00 180.00 179.57 179.56 179.14 178.13 178.18 179.20 179.30 178.46 177.70 179.00

subjects was found to be missing, i.e., did not make contact
with the ground and was reected as missing toes in the foot-
prints. The non-contact of the fth toe is an important and
valuable clue in crime scene investigation and perpetrator iden-
tication in a scientic way. Similar ndings were observed
and recorded by Reel et al.31, Kanchan33 and Nataraja
Moorthy.37
Table 5 presents the comparison of frequencies in non-con-
tact of fth toe with the ground during the footprint develop-
ment process between the present study and other studies. The
percentage in non-contact of the fth toe on the ground during
the development process of the footprint is lower in Tamils
than other studies. The intrinsic muscle function would help
to stabilize the arch along with the plantar aponeurosis and
help in maintaining the toes at on the ground until lift-off
has occurred.49
The footprints can be classied into four types on the basis
of the relative morphological lengths of the rst, second and
third toes.4 These four types have been denoted as T-Type
(the tibialis-type), F-type (the bularis-type), M-type (the mid-
ularis-type) and O-type (the intermediate-type). The present
investigation revealed that the footprints of Indian Tamils
have fallen either in T-type or F-type unlike Gujjars, the foot-
prints of which found distributed in all types with varying
frequencies.
The present study successfully derived linear regression
equations for stature estimation from 10 diagonal axis foot-
print length measurements and the regression equations pres-
ent lower SEE. The SEE values are found to be in between
3.730 and 3.812 cm. The foot length is the best parameter for
estimating stature since stature can be estimated from an un-
known person with great accuracy and a small SEE, i.e. about
26 cm.22 The second left toe (LT-2) shows a lower SEE
(3.730) while the rst left toe (LT1) (3.812) shows a higher
SEE. Thus the stature can very well be estimated from foot-
print lengths with low SEE. The correlation coefcient be-
tween the various footprint length measurements with stature
shows a high positive linear relationship between footprint
length and stature, and the correlation coefcient ranged from
0.555 to 0.578.
The accuracy of the regression equations was veried by
comparing the estimated stature with actual stature. All the
10 footprint length measurements of the 10 randomly selected
subjects were substituted in the derived regression equations to
estimate the stature so that the equations may be used even for
partial footprints. The estimated stature values are found to be
closer to actual stature values and are presented in Table 6.
The present investigation revealed that both regression
equations and scatter graphs indicated the existence of statisti-
cally signicant positive correlation between footprint lengths
and stature of Indian Tamils. It is a usual and regular trend in
a real crime scenario wherein most of the crime scenes are dis-
turbed by the public and inmates by leaving their footprints at
the crime scene area before arrival of police investigating of-
cers. Hence it is the duty of the investigating ofcer to recog-
nize and locate the appropriate footprints suitable for stature
estimation so as to link effectively the crime scene and the per-
petrator forensically.
5. Conclusion
The present study concludes that footprint length measure-
ments have a strong relationship with the stature of adult male
Indian Tamils. This study showed that the footprints of Indian
Tamils are different from other Indian populations. It is well
known that people from different regions of a country and
world have different morphological features depending on
their geographical distribution and racial characteristics.
Hence it is important to keep it in mind that the regression
equations derived in this investigation are unsuitable for any
other population either in India or anywhere in the world.
Stature estimation from footprint measurements in Indian Tamils by regression analysis
Therefore, it is suggested that similar stature estimation from
footprint studies should be continued for other populations
living in India and in the world for the meaningful forensic
investigation.
Funding
The author did not received any specic funding for this
research.
Conict of interest
The authors have no conict of interest to declare.
Ethical approval
Ethical approval was taken from Universiti Sains Malaysia.
Acknowledgments
We are thankful to all participants who took part in this stren-
uous study. Authors are grateful to Vice Chancellor, Dy, Vice
Chancellor (research), Campus Director, Dean of Health Sci-
ences, Forensic Science Program Chairman, Universiti Sains
Malaysia for their permission and encouragement for the sam-
ple collection at Tamilnadu State, South India.
Thanks are due to Mr. K. Ramanujam, I.P.S., Director Gen-
eral of Police, Tamilnadu State, South India for his encourage-
ment and support to conduct this research.
We wish to thank Prof. Dr. P. Sundarapandian, Prof. Dr. A.
Shanmugasundaram and the Research Department of Chemis-
try staff and students, VHNSNC, Virudhunagar, afliated to
Madurai Kamaraj University, South India for their support
in sample collection.
We are very thankful to Mr. Mani, and Mr. Donald Ravichan-
dran, Assistant Directors of Forensic Sciences Department,
Government of Tamilnadu, South India for their assistance
throughout the sample collection.
Our thanks are due to Dr. Aniza Abd. Aziz, Biostatistics and
Research Methodology Unit, and Dr. P.T. Jayaprakash, Asso-
ciate Professor in Anthropology, Universiti Sains Malaysia for
their help in the statistical analysis and proofreading the article
in this study.
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