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Introduction. The paper is devoted to a study of archaeological and anthropological features of the four Pre-Scythian burials from the burial grounds of the Volga-Don interfluves. Material and Methods. In the course of the study, materials from the monuments Marinovka, Kurgan, 1 burial 17 have been examined; Pervomaisky VII, kurgan 46, burial 8; Pervomaisky VIII, kurgan 5, burial 1 and Baranovka I, kurgan10, burial 11. In order to evaluate the archaeological context, a typological research method and the results of radiocarbon dating are applied; for the purpose of studying anthropological features, craniological analysis and pathological conditions analysis were conducted. Analysis and Discussion. The study of the funeral rite and the material culture grave goods of the Pre-Scythian period made it possible to attribute the three burials to the so-called “Chernogorovsky type” and one to the “Novocherkassk type”. The dates comparison obtained by the relative chronology method with radiocarbon dating showed some underestimation of the existent burials timing in absolute dates. Individual skulls features revealed heterogeneity of composition which is associated with both the previous Late Bronze Age population from this territory who practiced the crouched position of the deceased in funeral rituals, and with newcomer groups morphologically similar to the population of the Bronze Age of Southern Siberia (Karasuk) who use elongated bones practice in the funeral rite. Furthermore, a series of the skulls pathological features showed their similarity to the population of the Sauromatian-Sarmatian period who practiced nomadic lifestyle. Conclusions: The materials from the monuments of the Volga-Don interfluve described in the paper illustrate the burial traditions similarity and morphological specificity of the Pre-Scythian population from the Northern Black Sea, the Lower Don and the Ciscaucasia regions.

The article analyses the findings of fossils, archaeological sites, and historical literature on the distribution of saigas in Ukraine during the Quaternary period. Most findings of saiga fossils are concentrated in the Crimea and the Northern Black Sea region. However, the northernmost record localities of the species are known from the territory of Rivne Oblast. The oldest finds date back to the Middle Palaeolithic period. The most famous sites of the Middle Palaeolithic period are Illinka Cave (Odesa Oblast) and a number of Crimean sites, such as Aji Koba, Alimov’s Canopy, Za-Skelna V, Temna Cave, and Prolom II. Saiga remains were found in the faunal collections of Late Palaeolithic sites, including Anetivka II (Odesa Oblast), Buran Kaya IV, and Suren I in the Crimea. Remains of saiga from the Mesolithic period were discovered in Odesa (Myrne) and Zaporizhzhia oblasts (Kamianna Mohyla), and in the Crimea (Syuren II, Alimovskiy canopy, Zamil Koba, etc.). Remains from the Neolithic, Bronze, and Early Iron Ages come from Odesa (Usatove) and Kherson (Mykhailivka) oblasts. The analysis of the history of the saiga’s distribution range in Ukraine allows us to determine the probability of the first migrations of the species to the region during the Pleistocene (MIS 5– MIS2). The relatively large number of localities where saiga remains have been found suggests that favourable conditions for the species’ existence were formed in the territory of modern Ukraine at that time. Xerophytization of steppe phytocoenoses contributed to the saiga’s spread throughout history. Until the mid-18th century, the saiga was a common game species, hunted for its meat and horns. The reduction of the species’ range and population in Ukraine took place during the 18th century under the pressure of uncontrolled hunting, intensification of agriculture (which led to changes in natural habitats and seasonal migration routes), nomadic cattle breeding (which caused depression of pastures and competition for trophic resources), and, in some cases, climatic disasters associated with excessive snow cover. The final disappearance of the species from the fauna of Ukraine occurred in the first half of the 19th century. The data on morphological parameters of saiga remains from some Pleistocene and Holocene archaeological sites are presented.

Anatomical variations in the structure of the pterion were examined in various craniological series representing modern populations from Australia, Melanesia, Southeast Asia, North Asia, America, and Europe, encompassing 2035 adult crania. The comparison of populations based on the frequency of nonmetric traits revealed significant diversity across regions. Notably, the sphenoparietal connection is most frequent in European and South Asian populations, as well as among Native Americans, while it is least common among African groups. The frontotemporal connection predominates among Australian Aborigines and Melanesians and is also common in African populations but is almost non-existent in Europeans. The X-shaped pterion is most frequently observed in the Eskimos of Chukotka and the Chukchi, as well as among Somali and Tanzanian populations. A high frequency of epipteric bones is particularly characteristic of Southern Indians, Burmese, Australians, and Melanesians. Pairwise comparisons of populations were conducted using Smith's Mean Measure of Divergence (MMD). To visualize the data from individual regions, the method of Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) was applied to the matrices of biological distances. The MDS plot for the North Asian region revealed distinct clusters of the Arctic, Baikal, Central Asian, and Ural groups, aligning with G.F. Debetz's classification based on morphological similarities among populations. In the MDS plot for the South and Southeast Asian, American, and African populations, Australians and Melanesians formed a separate cluster; Pueblo Indians were closely aligned with Peruvians, South Indians with Burmese, Malays merged with Papuans, and African populations were positioned relatively close to each other. In Europe, Caucasian groups formed a distinct cluster. On the combined graph, the populations were clearly divided by regions. The results obtained indicate that the spatial arrangement of populations on the graphs approximately mirrors their genetic connections and shared origins. This suggests that nonmetric variations in the pterion area are more likely determined by genetic rather than ecological factors and can be considered taxonomically valuable traits at the regional level. Investigating the structure of the pterion in an evolutionary context may shed light on broader questions concerning the evolution of the skull and the mechanisms influencing its formation.

The history of North Africa has been always tightly connected to events occurring in Eurasia. Human migrations in both directions are well-documented in written sources and archaeological records. To gain a comprehensive understanding of historical processes, it is essential to study the remains of individuals who inhabited this region during various time periods. A lack of cranial metric data on the Medieval population of North Africa impedes thorough investigation of the population history of the region. This paper presents a craniometric study of the sample from the Southern necropolis at Deraheib. This study contributes to filling the existing void in the understanding of the Medieval population of North Africa. According to written sources, the site was a center of gold mining, known as the city of al-Allaki, dated to the 9th to 15th centuries AD. The city attracted a diverse population seeking economic opportunities. Besides this, Al-Allaki served as an important point on the caravan route which was utilized by merchants and pilgrims traversing the Nubian Desert on their way to Jeddah. The study analyzes cranial metrics of a total of 23 individuals (14 male and 9 female) skulls recovered from the southern necropolis Deraheib sample and employs 55 linear dimensions, following Martin's/Howells craniometric protocol as well as some additional measurements. Statistical analyses were performed using the R language packages and the Multican software. Our results revealed heterogeneity of the sample in male and female parts of the sample at the intragroup level: an observation aligning with existing archaeological and historical evidence. The limited size of the sample warns against any firm conclusions regarding affinities of the Deraheib population. Our intergroup comparison has shown that the cranial sample from the Southern Necropolis of the Deraheib site displays morphological features that are more similar to neighboring Caucasoid populations rather than equatorial groups from East Africa.

The paper touches upon the history of biological anthropology study of the Tagar culture bearers that inhabited the Southern Siberia in the VIII–II centuries BC. The author of the research highlighted the key issues of biological anthropology studies of the Tagar culture: 1) The genesis issues of the Tagar culture (the discussion about the contribution of the Karasuk culture representatives to the formation of the Tagar population anthropological composition); 2) The issue of classifying burials in barrows by timeline, resulting in attribution of individuals from different timelines to a single sampling in anthropological research; 3) The issue of grouping paleoanthropological material due to the constant revision of the chronology of the Tagar culture; 4) The issue of intergroup variability (morphological changes on the bone remains of the Tagar culture population from different timelines). The author extensively examines the key papers by anthropologists of the XX century, dedicated to studying the population of the Tagar culture. The author reviewed the main theories and hypotheses on the genesis issues of the Tagar culture population made by G.F. Debets, V.P. Alekseyev, V.A. Dremov, and A.G. Kozintsev. The current state of anthropological studies of the Tagar culture population is analyzed in the paper.

In the present paper, fully based on previously published craniological and dental non-metric data, the origins of common morphological elements in the compositions of representatives of the Sargatka and Bolsherechenskaya Cultures are investigated. An attempt is made to assess the available data with the aid of the integrated analysis, implying combined examination of craniological and dental non-metric data for each population. The previous studies of the craniological and dental non-metric data showed that the series are significantly distinct in the differentiation by the vector ‘west-east’, or, in other words, Caucasoidness-Mongoloidness. Despite this, their certain affinity was recorded repeatedly, both in the analysis of craniometric data as well as in the study of odontoscopic data, but no explanation of this peculiarity has yet been proposed. The craniological sample of the Sargatka Culture comprised 158 crania and the dental non-metric one — 424 crania. The boundaries of the areal of the Sargatka Culture encompass the forest-steppe zone of the south of Western Siberia: the basins of the rivers Tobol, Ishim, and Irtysh, and the Baraba forest-steppe. The examined materials were divided in four groups corresponding to these territories. The craniological sample of the Bolsherechenskaya Culture comprised 118 crania, and the dental non-metric data amounted to 326 crania. The Bolsherechenskaya Culture materials originate from 11 burial grounds in the territory of the Novosibirsk Ob basin. All data were previously published. In the results, the population interaction of the bearers of the Sargat and Belsherechenskaya Cultures has been recorded, in which some representatives of the Kamenskaya Culture of the forest-steppe Altai were also involved, which is confirmed by archaeological data. However, it should be emphasized that this interaction was not so widescale. The Sargatka series, being located near to the Bolsherechenskaya ones, are also located in the same field with autochthonous Siberian groups. This becomes the evidence of the fact that not only the interaction in the Early Iron Age binds together the representatives of the Sargatka and Bolsherechenskaya Cultures. The fact is that the specificity of the anthropological composition of the Bolsherechenskaya people is directly related to the most ancient autochthonous Siberian populations, whereas the specific features of the Sargatka people — to southwestern migrants. However, an important result of the conducted analysis is that the composition of the Sargatka series retains the specific elements which are characteristic of the autochthonous populations of Western Siberia and which do not disappear under the influence of foreign migrant groups — this is the maturised structure of the lower molars.

The article presents paleoanthropological materials from the early period of the functioning of the Berel burial mound Pazyryk culture. The monument is located in Altai (Republic of Kazakhstan). The author presents craniological, odontological data and evidence of post-mortem manipulations with the bones of individuals from large mounds that belonged to people of high social status. The physical characteristics of the population represented in the burial mound find analogies both in the Pazyryk culture and among the population of the Saka cultures of Central Asia. The presence of a female skull with a Mongoloid appearance in mound 16 confirms already existing ideas about the participation of individuals with an eastern, Mongoloid appearance in the full life of the Pazyryk community. Post-mortem manipulations with bodies, traces of which are recorded on the skeletal remains of persons of high social status at the Berel burial mound, significantly complement the database for understanding the nuances of burial traditions associated with the artificial mummification of bodies. Farewell ceremonies in a nomadic lifestyle are not always possible in a short time. It can be assumed that the mummification of bodies was a preparatory stage for a complex and lengthy process of farewell traditions before the burial of the body in an arid climate.

Presented in the publication are the craniological data on a series of early nomads of the Sarmatian type from the Industrialnaya Zona (Poyma) cemetery in the territory of Terekti District of Western Kazakhstan Oblast. Age and sex determinations were given for 61 burials of the Early Iron Age and five of the Bronze Age. The craniological series is represented by 32 crania, of which 20 are male and 12 are female. They are characterized by similar morphological features characteristic of the population of the Ural River Basin. As of today, this series is one of the largest, and it dates to a rather narrow chronological period of the 4th–3rd cс. BC. The ‘Sauromato-Sarmatian’ population across the whole territory of its settlement demonstrates biological unity, which is also confirmed by the palaeogenetic data. It is likely that the Volga-Ural and Cisaral regions constituted the hearth of the racial genesis, which is associated with the origin of the early nomads of the arid zones from the Urals to Ancient Khwarazm and from the Turgay to the Lower Don regions and the formation of the specific craniological complex, with large latitudinal characteristics of the cranium and facial region. The angles of the horizontal profiling feature significant flattening at the upper level, while at the lower level it is at the borderline between the Caucasoid and Mongoloid types with the nasal bones protruding prominently in profile. Also presented in the publication is the graphic reconstruction of the face from the cranium from burial No. 3, mound No. 10. The features presented in the physical appearance of the reconstruction reflect what the ancient nomads of the Ural River Basin looked like. The comparison of the craniological characteristics of the Industrialnaya Zone cemetery against a broad background of the comparative materials, generalised from the cultures of the Early Iron Age, showed that the craniological features of the group do not differ from the surrounding population with similar cultural characteristics of the Volga-Ural region, Western Kazakhstan, and the Lower Don region at the end of the 6th — 3rd c. BC.

Human skulls study occupies a special place in anthropology due to a significant informational role of this part of the skeleton in determining both general (group) and individual features enabling restoration of individual physical topology and lifetime appearance. The paper provides the anthropological type description of the ancient population from the Lower Volga region according to the data of craniology and sculptural anthropological reconstruction of the face from the skull. In the course of the study, two female and two male skulls were craniologically analyzed using the typological approach. Sculptural anthropological reconstructions were obtained for three skulls: the two female and one male. Reconstruction of the external appearance of the face from the skull of the second male skull was carried out using a digital method. Anthropological type featuring of the two female skulls from the Srubna culture and the pre-Sauromatian time burials allows us to determine their type as a Long-headed Caucasoids, predominant among the Late Bronze Age population. The male skulls of the Early Iron Age are also characterized by Caucasoid features, but they have a brachycranial skull and a weakened horizontal profiling of the face. The presence of a long-headed Caucasoid complex on the female skull from the pre-Sauromatian burial, combined with a crouched on the left side funeral rite, suggests that the studied individuals had a partial continuity from the Bronze Age population. The morphological features of the Sauromatian and Early Sarmatian skulls have analogies in the synchronous population of Western Kazakhstan, Southern Urals and the Lower Volga region. Visualization of the bone structures of the facial skull gives an idea of how the population from the Lower Volga region looked like in different eras.

Some specialists in Crimean archaeology tend to believe that Early Medieval Crimean vaults may contain bone remains of the Alans who once moved to the peninsula from the Caucasus. Such an assumption is based on the similarity of vault burial structures and T-shaped Alanian catacomb graves. However, arguments like this is fairly criticized by specialists in Sarmatian archaeology. We have tried to test this hypothesis with the use of methods taken from physical anthropology. In addition to materials from Crimean burial grounds of Suvlu-Kaya, Inkerman, Chernaya Rechka and from Early Alanian sites in the North Caucasus, we used a wide range of comparative materials from various archaeological cultures of Eastern, Central and Southern Europe. The conclusion is that people buried in the Crimean vaults were hardly related to the Alans or the Sarmatians and presumably originated from autochthonous ‘Taurian’ population. At the same time, the physical appearance of people buried in niche graves is very similar to that of people belonging to the Late Sarmatian and the Early Alanian groups.

Paul Bouts (1900–1999) was a Belgian pedagogue, a Roman Catholic priest, and the founder of Psychognomy, which is a personality diagnostic system combining phrenology and several related practices – typology, craniofacial measurements, physiognomy, graphology etc. Bouts had a fragile health; therefore, it is unlikely that he travelled to Brazil. Despite this, his most famous book, rich in conservative and religious thoughts, was translated to Portuguese and published with ecclesiastic support in 1943, and the doctrine acquired good reputation among Brazilian members of the clergy, politicians, teachers, and military personnel. Lay scholars and medical doctors founded a Brazilian institute devoted to the study and diffusion of psychognomy in 1949. They published two volumes of a psychognomy treatise, and the institute was active until the early 1960s, when social interest in the subject rapidly vanished.

The German anatomist and palaeontologist Hermann Klaatsch arrived in Australia to study the aborigines in March 1904. The aim of his trip was to continue his research on the phylogenetic history of humanity and test his colleague at the University of Heidelberg Otto Schoetensack’s hypothesis that Australia was the cradle of humankind. He travelled the country’s coastline without interruption, except for a trip of a few months to Java, until May 1906. During his trip, which also included Tasmania, Klaatsch studied the aborigines from an anthropological, craniological, and material culture perspective, taking notes, making drawings, taking photographs of the natives, and compiling ethnographic collections which were dispatched to several German museums. Klaatsch made nearly 400 photographs of Australian natives and took plaster casts of the foot of an individual, owing to its atavistic anatomy. This latter generated a misunderstanding in a local newspaper that soon reached the international media, about the alleged discovery of the “missing link” in Australia. On his return from Australia in April 1907, Klaatsch was appointed extraordinary professor in anatomy, anthropology and ethnography, and curator of collections at the anatomical institute and the ethnological museum at the University of Breslau (Wroclaw, Polonia).

The paper presents the results of the anthropological study of a mass grave located in the grounds of the kremlin of Pereslavl-Zalessky (European Russia). It has been preliminary dated to the 13th — first half of the 14th century. This study is aimed at craniological investigation and establishing anthropological connections of the Medieval population of Pereslavl-Zalessky, as well as clarification of the circumstances of appearance of the mass burial within the town territory with the aid of anthropological methods. The human remains were analyzed to identify the number of individuals and to determine their sex and age. Determination of sex and age and recording of injuries were carried out on the craniological material. The craniological program was used to study 28 male and 16 female skulls. A canonical discriminant analysis was used for the intergroup analysis. The mass burial contained separated bones of 80 adults and 19 children. It was possible to identify 30 males and 24 females. The male component of the group was represented by virtually all age groups. The female part comprised mainly women aged 20–35. Therefore, the interred were placed in the grave spontaneously, considerably later after their death; the bodies had time to decompose completely. Eleven instances of skull injuries without signs of necrotic process and healing were recorded. The location and characteristics of the burial and presence of several instances of fatal lacerated wounds indicate that the city residents died in the course of a military clash. Therefore, the studied series represents a time slice of the population of the medieval city. The canonical discriminant analysis on the craniological series of 53 revealed that the studied series is distinct from the territorially and chronologically close series of Yaroslavl and Kostroma Krivichs. It also showed that the formation of the population of Pereslavl-Zalessky was strongly influenced by the migration of the Ilmen Slovens and Smolensk-Polotsk Krivichs. Among the specifics of the Pereslavl series, also noteworthy is the strong influence of southern Russian migrants. On the contrary, the influence of the Finno-Ugric morphological component on the urban population of the 13th–14th centuries was very insignificant.

The Narym Selkups are an indigenous population of the Middle Ob River region speaking various dialects of the Selkup language related to the South-Samodian branch of the Ural language family. In the course of the study of Medieval and relatively recent burial grounds in the territory of the Narym Ob area of Tomsk Oblast, conside-rable amount of craniological material has been collected, which constitutes an important historical source for solving general problems of their origins. According to the archaeological and ethnographic materials, the Medieval burials were left by direct ascendants of modern Narym Selkups, whereas the materials from the later burial grounds are directly associated with their specific local-dialect groups. This paper is aimed to introduce into scientific discourse virtually all craniological materials known today from the burial grounds left by the Narym Selkups, and, on the basis of the results of group cross-correlation, to identify trends of the territorial variability of the whole community. Significant increase of new finds from the vast territory of the Middle Ob region, population-driven approach to the data analysis and development of the craniometric technique warranted re-grouping of the finds by the territorial principle and their repeated measurement and analysis. In view of the current problem, all craniological materials were grouped into ten sampling series, five of which are published for the first time (the burial ground of Ostyatskaya Gora and four combined craniological series from the burial grounds of Lower Chulym, Narym Ob, Upper Ket, and the Tym and Vasyugan rivers). Analysis of the variability of the series from the Narym Ob region in chronological and geographical bands showed their weak variability in space and time. Therefore, prior to the Russian colonization of Siberia, this region of the Middle Ob area was not invaded by considerably large groups of people of different anthropological appearance. All studied craniological series were samples from the single unity. Although the territorial variability of the anthropological features within the groups of the Narym Selkups is not large, in some cases an influence of territorially closest neighbours on the anthropological structures of particular Selkup populations can be discerned. It appeared that the southern groups exhibit resemblance with their territorially closest Turkic populations of the Chulym and Lower Tom regions, while in the composition of other Narym groups, there have been identified an admixture of the component genetically related to the Turkic populations of the Western-Siberian forest-steppe – Barabino and Tobol-Irtysh Tatars, and, although being very weak, an influence of the Ob Ugric populations can be discerned.

Introduction. The paper presents results of the funeral rite and material culture study of the Sauromat time Tau cemetery located on the territory of Western Kazakhstan, and also provides anthropological analysis of the skull discovered there. Methods and materials. An interdisciplinary approach was applied in the course of the study with inclusion of typological, analog and cross-dating methods regarding the funeral rite and material culture examination, methods for studying craniometrical and cranioscopic signs, as well as methods of skull pathology evaluation. The source of the study material as well as the male skull discovery site is burial 1 of kurgan 1 of Tau cemetery. Discussion and results. The funeral rite and clothing inventory data confirms that the burial belongs to Sauromat archaeological culture and, within the chronological framework, could be dated back late 6th – early 5th centuries BC. Furthermore, the funeral rite and weaponry features, including a quiver set with a short sword, attribute this burial to this epoch. Historical and archaeological source analysis suggests that there must have been a cult of the Hand in the Sauromat-Sarmatian society; consequently, the separate interment of the right hand in the examined burial reveals its military trophy origin. The male skull possesses Caucasian features with a weakened horizontal facial profile. The morphological features of the skull from the Tau cemetery have analogies in the synchronous population of Western Kazakhstan, Southern Urals and Lower Volga regions. The skull pathology analysis showed the presence of periodontitis, intravital trauma to the frontal bone, as well as some acute sinusitis signs.

The article is dedicated to a study of craniological materials from Izhevsk burial ground. The researchers had at their disposal a series of 19 male and 26 female skulls. The male skulls are generally characterized as dolicho-mezokranial with a low arch height and moderate development of muscle relief in the neck and forehead. The facial skeleton is medium-wide, medium-high, and medium in terms of proportion. In the general vertical projection, the face is mesognathic, and in the alveolar projection - prognathic. Overall, the male skulls from Izhevsk burial ground belong to caucasoid forms, but with non-moderate features, which may indicate the presence of a mongoloid component. The female skulls, with due account of sexual dimorphism, were not much different from the male skulls, with the exception of a smaller protruding angle of the nose, which can indicate a more pronounced mongoloid component. The craniological series of the Izhevsk burial ground, regardless of gender, is summarized as Caucasoid, but with the inclusion of a certain portion of Mongoloid impurity, which is most pronounced in its female portion. The series from Izhevsk burial ground, according to its morphological features - an elongated skull, narrow and medium-high face combined with moderate horizontal profiling and medium protrusion of the nasal bones is included in the Volga-Ural series of the turn of the epochs, which anthropologically represent the population of the Pyany Bor, Mazunino, Kara-abyz, Azelino, Gladenovo and Bakhmutino cultures. Probably, the formation of the physical appearance of this population took place on a common morphological basis (Caucasoid as a whole), which, however, does not exclude the genetic influence of individual "southern" Caucasoid and more Mongoloid "eastern" groups. A paleo-pathological analysis of the remains of the finds from Izhevsk burial ground has allowed to trace and characterize trauma on 4 skulls (9.5%) and 8 skeletons (11%). The osteomalacia and occurrence rate of physiological stress markers (in half of the cases) indicate severe living conditions of the population buried at Izhevsk burial ground.

Traditionally, the emergence of the Russian medieval town of Plyos is attributed to the second half of the 12th c., when a fortress was built on the Sobornaya Mountain (upper part), and a settlement emerged in the lower area on the left bank of the River Shokhonka, right-bank tributary of the Volga River. Craftsmen and fishermen quarters, which presumably had appeared long before the fortress, located on the other side of Shokhonka. Plyos was first mentioned in written sources in 1141. During the archaeological excavations in the Varvarinskaya street (Varvara necropolis) on the territory of modern Plyos town (Ivanovo Region), managed by the «Ivanovo Archaeological Expedition» company, human skeletal remains dated to the 10th–13th c. were found. This palaeoanthropological material characterizes the population which inhabited the Upper Volga region (Verkhnee Povolzhye) in the Middle Ages. The aim of this study was to analyse the formation of the anthropological features of the medieval town population and assess its physical appearance. Material and methods: 17 skulls (11 male and 6 female) were examined according to standard craniological protocol, 19 uncomplete postcranial skeletons were measured following the standard osteometric protocol with some authors modifications: we present detailed data on the postcranial skeletons and the analysis of limb proportions and robustness of the long bones. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used for intergroup comparison with craniological series from ten different Russian and Belorussian towns (11th–16th c.). Major results and conclusions. Presented paleoanthropological study has revealed a number of characteristics for the male skulls, associated with elongated cranium, average-high face and sharp horizontal facial profile. The female skulls exhibit mesocrania and smoother naso-molar area profile. Morphological analysis of the postcranial skeletons has demonstrated relatively elongated forearms and shortened shins in individuals from this burial ground. Reconstructed living stature of the males appears to be above average, and for women, on the contrary, below average. The problem of the common and specific patterns in the formation of the anthropological traits of the medieval town population cannot be addressed with the available anthropological material. However, PCA of the studied craniological sample indicates that the males are morphologically related to the medieval individuals from Yaroslavl (Russia) and partly to those from Novogrudok (Belarus). Thus, medieval men buried on the territory of Plyos were undoubtedly related to (presumable) retainers buried in the sanitary graves in Yaroslavl.

This paper is dedicated to discussion of craniological materials obtained from Berezovsky 5 burial mound in the southern Trans-Urals during archaeological excavations in 1994. The mound necropolis dates back to the Late Bronze Age (14th to 13th сс. BC) and relates to the Kozhumberdy stage in the Alakul development line of the Andronovo cultural community. Three researched skulls, two of them male and one female, originate from mound 6 of this burial site. The dental system of a young woman has undergone severe wear as a result of work activity. The craniological research of the female skull using Heincke formula made it possible to tentatively judge about its morphological affinity to skulls from the Laimberdy burial site and a combined skull set of the Akakul culture from the Trans-Urals. Basing on the female skull we have performed a graphic reconstruction of her appearance full face. The female skull shows some Mongoloid traits. Two male skulls failed to preserve their facial skeletons, except for braincases. The indicators of facial skeleton flattening at the orbital level can also testify to the presence of the Mongoloid component in their craniological type.

Article is devoted to studying of bone remains from antique burial grounds from the territory of the Armenian Highland. Anthropological materials of burials consist of 322 skeletons and dated I–III c. AD. The article analyzes the differences in anthropological characteristics of urban and rural population of Armenia of Antiquity period. The work is based on classical craniometric and statistical research methods. Artificial cranial deformationare and unintended deformation of a cradle-type found among urban and rural populations. As an intragroup analysis showed, the main differences between male urban and rural population across the size of the width of the frontal bone and face. If the villagers face orthognatic, angle of horizontal profiling at the top level enters the category of averages, in urban women face mezognatik, the angle of horizontal profiling is characterized by small values. Intergroup analysis showed, closest to urban male groups it turned out the tribes of Chernyakhov culture and the population of the Middle East. A male part of the villagers shows intimacy with Scythians of Crimea, Ukraine and Transnistria. The female part of the towns’ people is close with the Scythians of Ukraine and Crim; villagers are morphologically similar to the carriers of the Middle Sarmatian cultures of the Don region, with a population of the first centuries AD from Tanais, European and Asian Bosporus. Morphological analogies with the population of Northern Turkmenistan (Tumek-Kichidzhik), Western Ukraine (Chernyakhov culture), Middle Dnieper and Moldova (Scythians) were also revealed. This circumstance confirms the fact of sustainable, constant migration flow to the territory of the Armenian Highlands.

The authors examine the origins of the Upper Taz Selkups based on craniology and dental anthropology. They are one of the least studied groups of the indigenous population of Western Siberia. Judging by historical and ethnolinguistic data, the Northern Selkups moved to the Upper Taz region in the 17th – 18th century. Anthropological materials of the Northern Selkups were first obtained only in 2013 and 2016 during the excavations of Kikki-Akki burial ground. Recorded according to archaeological data, the burial rite has direct analogies in Southern Selkups burial grounds of the 17th – 18th centuries, with the exception of the selected individual features of the Eastern Khanty traditions. The craniological sample from Kikki-Akki burial includes 21 skulls – 13 males and 8 females. The dental sample includes the teeth of 22 individuals – 10 male, 6 female and 6 children. During the study the authors examined the anthropological materials based on the method of description of dental and cranial morphology, performed statistical integration. Characteristics of the series were compared with the obtained data of West Siberian near-recent samples. The analysis of the data shows that the Vakh Khanty represent the closest analogy to the series from Kikki-Akki, but the female part of the craniological sampling has a strong resemblance to the groups of the Southern Selkups. The results confirm the available historical and ethnolinguistic data on their formation due to the resettlement of a part of the Southern Selkup group from the Ob River Basin to the north, i.e. to the upper reaches of the Taz River. Moreover, the results demonstrate that the Selkup appearance changed quite a lot in a short period of time (200–300 years) that passed since their migration. The Northern Selkups acquired a significant resemblance to the Vakh Khanty – the only population with which the Selkups could maintain marital relations during their resettlement from the Middle Ob River to the Taz River.

This article presents results of a comprehensive study of paleoanthropological materials from the Buchta Nakhodka 2 burial on the Yamal peninsula (Yamalsky district, Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area, Tyumen region, Russia). Morphological features of the skulls indicate their belonging to the Eastern-Mongoloid anthropological formation. However, in terms of the nasal bridge structure, they also belong to the Western Caucasoid population. The results of a study using the methods of multivariate statistics show that, despite a high individual variability characteristic of the modern species of Homo sapiens, the range of variability observed in the materials from the Buchta Nakhodka and Yumadoto burial grounds is within the scope of the intergroup variability typical of the North Samoyedic peoples. On this basis, a more representative sample of this ethnic group has been formed, which is taxonomically included in the Yamalo-Enisey group of populations of the West-Siberian anthropological formation. An interesting feature of the studied materials consists in the archaic structure of the lower premolars and the vestibular protuberance of the medial incisors, which are markers of an archaic character. Appearance of the population having lived in Yamal at that time is clearly shown via the facial reconstruction based on crania.

Introduction. This work is a review of scientific publications on studying paleoanthropological materials of the Bronze Age originating from burial mounds of the Lower Volga region. Materials and Analysis. The paper begins with the analysis of articles and monographic studies of domestic authors, whose works were written in the period from the 30s to the late 80s of the 20th century. The so-called Soviet period in Russian anthropology is characterized by the dominance of the individual-typological approach in describing skeletal series of representatives of the Bronze Age cultures. The osteological collections from burial complexes of the Bronze Age of the Lower Volga region accumulated at this stage of the study were distinguished by a small number and low representativeness. The main conclusions were based on studying craniological samples. A great contribution to developing ideas on the racial and ethnic history of the Lower Volga region during this period was made by researchers G.F. Debets, V.V. Gizburg, V.I. Vuich, B.V. Firshtein, A.V. Shevchenko. The second part of the article is devoted to analyzing the results of anthropological research in the region in the works of modern Russian scientists.A distinctive feature of these works is that they are based on studying large-scale craniological series of broad temporal and territorial coverage. The studies of such scientists as A.A. Khokhlov, E.F. Batieva, A.A. Kazarnitsky, M.A. Balabanova use the complex approach in which classical methods of physical anthropology (craniology, osteology) are combined with the methods of statistical analysis and using data from Archaeology, Paleodemography, and Paleoecology. Results. The work shows the importance of using anthropological data as an independent source in paleohistorical constructions, as well as in the process of the archaeological study of various cultures of the Bronze Age that existed in the Lower Volga region.

The authors examine the anthropological materials of the Sintashta and related cultures of the finale of the middle – the beginning of the late Bronze Age. Theoretical aspects of the problem of morphogenesis in these populations are presented in connection with archeological and genetic studies. The practical part is devoted to the analysis of new craniological sources from the burials of the Sintashta-Abashevo chronological horizon of the forest-steppe Urals. The materials of the collective burial near the village of Malojuldashevo and the burial ground Krasikovo I of the Orenburg region have being published for the first time. The authors determine the place of these populations among the synchronous forms of the Urals and the Volga region. Anthropological heterogeneity of the population has been shown and the prospect of joint archeological-anthropological and genetic studies for the reconstruction of processes of culturogenesis and morphogenesis is considered.

This article discusses my practice as an artist and researcher examining the situation and significance of graves. First, in a site-specific installation at West Norwood Cemetery in South London, talking with visitors about whether it matters where human remains are deposited; secondly, in exhibitions at the Crypt Gallery St. Pancras and Lumen Crypt Gallery in Bethnal Green, presenting evidence of the historical circumstances in which human remains were appropriated from graves in the colonies, for the purposes of research into racial ‘science’ in museums during the late nineteenth century.

This thesis demonstrates results of a comparison of new published craniological data of the East Manych catacomb culture population (Middle Bronze Age, North-Western Caspian region), of the funeral rites and the artifacts assortments in the burials of this culture and the types of decoration of incense burners - the special ceramic vessel. At least the more frequent appearance of incense burners in burials of individuals with an artificial deformation of the head (both men and women) is detected. Any other combinations of craniological and archaeological features are doubtful. The comparison of incense burnerss decoration and attributes funeral rite demonstrates the correlation of point type of dcor and more frequent use of bronze knives and piercers.

The paper features the results of an intragroup and intergroup analysis of all presently available craniological materials on nomads from the Altai Mountains of the Hun-Sarmatian period (Bulan-Koby archaeological culture, 2nd century B.C. – 5th century A.D.). A craniometric analysis of 75 male and 38 female skulls indicates a general Europeoid character of the physical appearance of the Bulan-Koby community at all stages of its development. Its composition is mainly represented by the Caucasian morphological component with traces of Mongoloid elements: meso-brachicranial with a wide moderately profiled face of an average height in combination with an average nose protrusion angle. A comparative intergroup analysis involving male craniological series from the territory of Southern Siberia and Central Asia of the Early Iron Age revealed two primary vectors of probable genetic relations of the nomads from the Altai Mountains of the Hun-Sarmatian period. The first vector is associated with the preceding local (Pazyryk) population. The second vector featuring a wide range of nomadic groups from the Eurasian steppes at the turn of the centuries is mainly represented by carriers of the Caucasian meso-brachicranial morphotype with various degrees of Mongoloid traces.

In this paper, we present a study of craniological materials collected in the Psebeps 3, Kabardinka and Tserkovnaya shchel’ medieval grave fields (Krasnodar Krai, Russia). The Psebeps 3 grave field (10 male and 5 female skulls), belonging to the Adyghe people (Circassians), dates to the 14th–15th centuries. The Kabardinka grave field (11 male and 4 female skulls), also correlating with the Adyghes, dates to the 14th–15th centuries. The Tserkovnaya shchel’ grave field (3 male and 3 female skulls), dating to the 17th–18th centuries, was a burial site of the Adyghe tribes. All the skulls are characterized by the Caucasoid craniological complex and a significant typological diversity within this complex. On the basis of intragroup analysis, a graph was drawn that places the skulls from the Psebeps 3 and Kabardinka grave fields on its right and left sides, respectively. This discrepancy is likely to result from a difference in these series, although they both represent culturally related population groups. Following the results of the intergroup analysis of the male series, the graph depicts two clusters. The first cluster features the Pyatigorsk, Natukhai, Kazazovo 1, Moshchevaya Balka, Gamovskoe Ushchelie, Psebeps 3 and Tserkovnaya shchel’ groups. The second cluster includes the Black Sea, Shapsugs, Kazazovo 2 and Kabardinka groups. The Circassian group is located on the graph separately from the aforementioned groups. The graph representing the results of the intergroup analysis of the female series shows the Psebeps 3, Kazazovo 2, Tserkovnaya shchel’ and Natukhai groups to be located on the left, the Pyatigorsk, Shapsugs, Kabardian, Black Sea and Moshchevaya Balka groups to be in the centre, while the Circassian group is located separately. In the distribution of the series, the separate position of the Circassian group stands out; this is likely to be a result of Mongoloid admixture in the territory of the Adyghe settlements recorded in the territory of Circassia. The cluster bringing together the series from the Black Sea, Kazazovo 2, Kabardinka and Shapsug groups can also be quite logically explained by the fact that all these populations belong to the Adyghes. In the third cluster, the new materials are in good agreement with the facts demonstrating the transformation of the anthropological variation typical of the skulls from Moshchevaya Balka and Kazazovo 1 towards that typical of the skulls from the Pyatigorsk group. It is interesting that the Psebeps 3 series originating from the territory of traditional Natukhai settlements demonstrate a convergence with the third cluster containing the Natukhai series.

This paper presents the results of human remains study from the necropolis on Tekstilschiki street (Kostroma city, Russia), dated back to XVI–XVIII centuries. The authors provide data on the craniology, postcranial skeleton, describe the pathologies on the teeth and bones. The study was conducted according to standard protocols of Russian anthropology. Studied sample comprises human remains of 77 individuals, including 41 belonged to women. This ratio can be explained by the fact that there was a nunnery necropolis on this territory in the late Middle Ages. Presented study revealed a number of features of the male part of the sample, associated with mesocrania and sharp horizontal facial profile. A comparative analysis of craniological data showed the proximity of the studied population to the medieval population of the Old Ryazan city (Russia). The female part of the sample differs from the male one in its tendency to brachicrania. A morphological analysis of the postcranial skeleton revealed the relative shortening of the shin and forearm of women. The reconstructed height for men turned out to be above average, for women, on the contrary, it is below average. Most often pathologies of the studied population are dentition pathologies and bruises of the bones of the limbs, which most likely had a civilian character.

This article characterizes extensive craniological and osteological materials from Miankal, the site located in the Samarkand region, the central part of the Big Sogd. A review of anthropological and archaeological data on the population having resided in the aforementioned province is given for a lengthy historical period from antiquity, through the Late Middle Ages and up to the present time. The majority of the collections are presented for the first time in their full size. The article reviews the epochal dynamics of main craniological characteristics and indicators. A comparative analysis of the Miankal series with all other Big Sogd series is performed in terms of important morphological and paleodemographic indicators. The main morphological complexes having existed in ancient, Middle Age and close to the present time populations are described. A certain morphological peculiarity of the Miankal groups is shown. These groups are described in terms of intergroup differences and in comparison with the other Sogd population. The relationship vectors of the Miankal populations with those of the Central (Samarkand), Western (Bukhara) and Southern (Kaskadarya) Sogd are demonstrated for different historical periods. A suggestion is made that Miankal, being part of the Central Sogd, was also populated by groups from the Western and Southern Sogd, as well as from other historical and cultural geographical regions, such as the Central Kyzylkum, the Sarikamish region, the lower Syrdarya. In addition, according to archaeologists, this region might have been populated by immigrants from Kangju.

This paper presents the analysis of a craniological series from the Republic of Ingushetia (Lezhg, Jegikal villages), South Ossetia (Verhnij Rokk, Verhnej Erman, Srednij Erman villages) and the Chechen Republic (Staraja Sunzha village) conducted using modern morphologic methods. The research is based on craniological materials from the MAE RAS (Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography of the Russian Academy of Sciences) collections that were gathered and described by V.V. Bunak in 1953. At that time, V.V. Bunak examined the material from the standpoint of the typological approach, giving great importance to the relative value of the cranial index. Therefore, it seems relevant to study the material within the framework of the population approach using modern me-thods. The aim of this paper is to classify the morphological characteristics of the Caucasian anthropological type using samples from two neighbouring groups (Ossetian and Ingush ones), which are analysed by two different methodologies. At the first stage, skulls were measured by a standard craniometric program. Subsequently, the obtained data was analysed by classical statistical methods (Mann — Whitney U test, Principal component analysis, Canonical discriminant analysis). At the second stage, the methods of geometric morphometry were applied for comparing the Procrustean distances by the principal component method (intragroup analysis) and the canonical discriminant analysis (intergroup analysis). The results of the geometric morphometry analysis have allowed us to trace the non-linear variation of the facial part of the skulls. The results obtained at both analytical stages have shown a good agreement. It is concluded that female groups are morphologically close to each other. Male groups show similarities between the Ingush and Ossetian materials. The craniological series from Staraya Sunzha is shown to be unique. Therefore, the majority of the craniological types identified by V.V. Bunak have not been confirmed by modern analytical methods, with the only exception being the male group from Staraya Sunzha.

Newly excavated materials from the Zarni Er cave (village of Hakhpat) have allowed the anthropological composition of the Late Middle Age (XIV–XVI centuries) inhabitants of Armenia to be characterized for the first time. Two burials were discovered in the Zarni Er cave. In Burial 1, the skeletal remains of two individuals were recovered. They belonged to a subadult, whose age-at-death is estimated to be between 5–6 years, and to a middle-adult male. In Burial 2, the skeletal remains of two more individuals were discovered: those of a young adult female and of an adult male. The burials were found adjacent to a medieval wine press. On the basis of anthropological and paleopathological data, the physical features and disease pathology of the bones were analysed. The traces of unintentional head (occipital) deformation were found on the skulls, which is supposed to be associated with social-domestic conditions. Some crania are found to display traumatic lesions, with most such fractures being located on the front of the head and its sides (on the frontal and parietal bones). In addition, several well-healed fractures were observed, including facial and rib ones. A left fibula found in Burial 1 showed a healed fracture at its distal end. The degree of the muscular relief development points to a considerable physical activity associated with labour. Some signs of enthesopathy, which disorder had previously been noted in horse riders, were discovered at the proximal end of the individuals’ femora. In two skeletons, the femora featured strongly developed lineas aspera in conjunction with the pronounced areas of the insertion of all three gluteal muscles, in particular of the gluteus minimus and gluteus medius on the greater trochanter. Harris lines, or growth arrest lines, are clearly seen on the Х-ray images of the tibial bone diaphyses. Some skeletal and dental markers, such as the frequencies of alveolar bone disease, cribra orbitalia, periostitis and Schmorl’s nodes, might be indicative of relatively poor living conditions (inadequate diet, occurrence of subadult anaemia and infectious diseases, extremely hard physical labour) in the Lori province, most probably due to a dramatic worsening of the political situation in Armenia at that time. The remains are believed to be those of the adherents of an anti-feudal, heretical Christian sect — Tondrakians — that flourished in the medieval Armenia. It is likely that the Tondrakian followers took refuge from persecution in the Zarni Er cave. The Tondrakian movement primarily had a social character and was used as a tool for class warfare. Many regions of Armenia were undergoing peasant uprisings, which first began in the form of open social protests, eventually adopting religious aspects.

Some researchers pointed out that the anthropological originality of some native groups of Western Siberia was formed as a result of late metisation processes that occurred in modern times. Judging by historical and ethnolinguistic data, one of such peoples is the Northern Selkups, who moved to the Upper Taz River basin in the XVII century for political, economic and, possibly, environmental reasons. Paleoontropological data can be an important source for solving the issue of their origin. The article is dedicated to the analysis of the craniological collection from Kikki-Akki burial, received in 2013 and replenished in 2016. The cranial characteristic of this group is reduced to a combination of the following features: a low subdolichocranial skull, a slightly flattened medium-wide and medium-high mesoprozopic face, a flat nose and a very small nasal protrusion angle. The intra-group variability of the male part of the series was studied. In terms of the degree of internal morphological similarity, two groups were singled out in the population under consideration. The first were mesocranial skulls with a mo-derate protrusion medium-high face (8 individuals), the second were subdolichocranial skulls with a flattened low face (5 individuals). It has been established that the Selkups from the Narym River area are indeed the ancestors of the Selkups from the Upper Taz River region, but their physical appearance changed over a short period of time (200–300 years) because of migration to the north. According to its anthropological type, male population of the Upper Taz River region in the XVIII–XIX centuries became as close as possible to the Eastern Khanty. However, it was possible to find in their anthropological structure features of the morphotype associated in genesis with the Selkups from the Narym River region. Formation of the anthropological originality of the Selkups from the Upper Taz River region proceeded with an active metisation of these two components belonging to one West Siberian formation. However, biological connections of the Northern Selkups with the ancestral group from the Narym River region apparently weakened by the XVIII-XIX centuries, and the Ugric component became dominant. A different situation is observed in the female population from the Upper Taz River region. They clearly have both basic components, with a slight predominance of the Southern Samoyedic.

The article contains the analysis of research of a craniological series from the Bukeevsky steppe’s burial mounds localised in the Volga-Ural interflow. According to the archaeological data these materials were dated from the 14th century — an epoch of the Golden Horde age. In the paper in order to relate Bukeevsky steppe’s nomads to other groups of medieval population of Eastern Europe and cross-border areas the comparative analysis of the craniological series (from the 2nd millennium AD) was carried out.

To improve and develop new methods for diagnosis and treatment of dentoalveolar anomalies, the study of questions relating to the morphology of the apical arches is relevant. Morphometric indices of the width of the apical arches of the lower jaw with brachicranial type of the skull structure were investigated. The work was performed on 144 preparations of the mandible of persons of mature age of both sexes with physiological occlusion of teeth. The width of the dental arch was measured between canines, premolars and molars. As a result of the study, the minimum and maximum confidence limits of the widths of dental arches at different levels of measurement were determined. The range of these boundaries was set. Reliability of the difference in the average statistical indices of the vestibular and lingual apical arches of the lower jaw in men and women was observed only at the level of the second premolars. At the remaining levels of measurement, the indicators were similar.

The article presents preliminary results of an anthropological research of human bone remains, obtained during excavations of medieval monuments on the territory of the Republic of Armenia. Cases of deliberate artificial modifications of skulls and unintentional cradle deformations were observed. Two unusual shapes (triangular, circular) of gaskets on the occipital bone in the individuals with frontal-occipital deformation were found. An individual from Burakn with artificial modification of the skull is characterized by a static asymmetry of the skull, the facial skeleton and the dental system. Craniological data indicates a heterogeneous anthropological composition of the population. A specific set of characteristics close to the Caucasion type were present among the inhabitants of Hovhannavank in the Late Middle Age. Results of the intergroup statistical analysis identified close morphological affinities between the Middle Age skulls from Armenia with groups from Southern and North-Western Caucasus, Iran, Mesopotamia. This article also analyzes morphological features of the postcranial skeleton. Muscular relief оn bones was very well developed in the vast majority of cases.

The paper analyzes the anthropological materials of Tankeevka burial ground (9th–10th centuries A.D.) obtained throughout the entire study period. A total of 61 male and 56 female skulls were studied on the basis of the craniological program. In terms of craniometry, the male and female skulls are generally characterized by the meso brachicranal shape of the head, the mesomorphic type of the face with moderate profiling at all levels, and by the average nose protrusion angle. In terms of anthropology, the series is Caucasian, but features an inclusion of a minor fraction of the Mongoloid component. An intragroup analysis of the series revealed several craniocomplexes in its composition mainly varying by the shape of the cranium and the manifestation degree of Caucasian features. A comparative intergroup analysis of the male series dating back to the turn of epochs and the early Middle Ages demonstrated that the formation of anthropological features of the Tankeevka population could have been established with the involvement of the “local” groups of the Volga-Ural genesis, as well as the “alien” groups of the Southern and South-Western origin.

The article is devoted to anniversary of Svetlana G. Efimova – the famous Russian craniologist, an expert on the physical anthropology of ancient and modern population of the Volga-Ural region. The authors present the milestones of the biography of the researcher, the important events of her scientific career, most of which are associated with the Anuchin Institute and Museum of Anthropology (Lomonosov Moscow State University). The authors also analyze the scientific works of Svetlana G. Efimova, primarily characterized by her articles on the craniology of the medieval population of Volga Bulgaria. Attention is drawn to her fundamental treatises on the craniology of the Europepeoples and especially – peoples of Russian plains, on methodological innovations in the field of craniophenetics and biometrics, contained in her publications.

Irrespective of era and habitat, people paid more attention to extraordinary and unlike phenomena, than to everywhere found and usual ones. This article is about unusual individuals of the 9th–11th centuries from Dvin, among which traces of delay of growth processes were revealed. The paper analyzes individual features of craniological, cranioscopic, odontological, osteological and paleopathological characteristics of two individuals. Basing on a comprehensive anthropological study of finds, an attempt to reconstruct the way of life of the buried was made. Due to the lack of bones of the post-cranial skeleton of the individual No. 1, we can state only nanocephalia. Markers of an incidental stress (hypoplasia of enamel, cribra orbitalia) in this individual indicate systemic influence of negative factors, such as infections, frequent periods of starvation which interfered with normal development of the organism in the childhood. The skeleton No. 2 is characterized by the Laron-type dwarfism (Laron syndrome). The research of bones of the skeleton showed presence of serious pathologies, unrepresentative for so young age, related to excessive exercise stresses. An optional version of the activity is possible: the dwarf was a clown-acrobat. Harris lines, or growth arrest lines are clearly seen on Х-ray images of two diaphyses of tibial bones. Another marker of growth delays (enamel hypoplasia) is also found in the individual No. 2. Existence of one of the diet indicators (odontolith) and absence of caries indicate similarity of ingredients of the meals of two individuals, and tying, perhaps, proteinaceous origin of their food.

Newly excavated materials from Areni 1 cave allowed characterizing for the first time the anthropological composition of the Late Eneolithic inhabitants of Armenia. Based on anthropological and paleopathological data, physical features and disease pathology of the bones were analyzed. Results of the intergroup statistical analysis identified close morphological affinities between the Eneolithic skulls from Areni 1 with groups from Tepe Hissar II, Ginchi, Catal Huyuk, Alishar Huyuk and the bearers of the Kuro-Araxes from the Southern Caucasus. Their connection with bearers of the Maikop, Khvalynian, Pit-Grave and Catacomb cultures was also revealed. As for race and genetics, the Late Eneolithic inhabitants from Areni 1 cave, more probably, originate from the territory of the Middle East. Special treatment of the bones of the deceased is observed (polishing). Certain crania, mostly male, display traumatic lesions. Such markers of childhood stress as enamel hypoplasia and cribra orbitalia were found among individuals from Areni 1 cave. Exposure to cold coinciding with chronic staphylococcal and streptococcal foci was likely the major cause of otitis media. Auditory exostoses may indicate exposure to cold air and/or cold water, too. Unintentional deformation of the head (parietal and occipital) is found on the skulls, which is associated with social-domestic conditions.

The paleoanthropological material discovered at a shrine in Bolshoy Log fortified settlement of the Kulay culture is of a big interest regarding the formation of the morphological type of the Kulay population. Despite the wide area of distribution (the Middle and Lower Ob River basin and adjacent territories of Western Siberia) and a long historical period of functioning (in the middle of the 1st millennium BC — the middle of the 1st millennium AD), there are only small data which would help to determine the morphological type of the Kulay population. These are materials from the burial grounds of Kamenny Mys, Aldygan and single skulls from Ust-Poluy and Kulayskaya Gora shrines. Investigation of a skull from Bolshoy Log shrine showed that morphological features of the individual (a male of mature age) completely fits into the variability, typical of the very Kulay population, despite of high individual variability. The morphological type of this male includes both Caucasoid and Mongoloid components. There are two trepanation holes on the skull, they were made after the skull had been separated from the body and after it had been cleaned off of soft tissues. The nature of holes location does not exclude a possibility of using it in ritual-magical actions. Facial reconstruction clearly demonstrates features of his appearance, which do not contradict a conclusion about the similarity of this male to a female from Ust-Poluy.

The article is dedicated to the study of the anthropological composition and origin of various groups of the ancient population of Armenia. Along with the paleoanthropological materials previously published by other researchers, the author studied new collections, gathered by various archaeological expeditions of the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of the National Academy of Sciences. We investigated a total number of 90 skulls of adult individuals of both sexes (57♂, 33♀). The new materials characterize the anthropological composition of the population of Lori, Shirak, Aragotsotni, Syunik regions of Armenia for the first time. The results of statistical analysis identified close affinities between the Transcaucasia samples and the samples from Southern Eastern Europe (Maikop, Lolinsk, Catacomb, Srubna cultures of the Fore Caucasus).

The article presents the results of craniological and odontological research based on a group of Ustyug-1 burial ground. The goal of the research is to determine genesis of the Bakal population from the Tobol river region of the Great Migration time. Morphology of the group was compared with the available data on the populations of the Early Iron Age, Early and High Middle Ages of this and adjacent regions. Their biological connection was determined. It was established that a dominant component in the Bakal population is genetically associated with Western Siberian population of the Early Iron Age. It is found out that by the IV–VI centuries AD the ancient multicomponent substrate of the Bakal group almost did not contain Caucasian morphological type. It was present only as a small admixture. The main component is the West Siberian short-faced Mongoloid complex. By the IX–XIII centuries, that component completely dominated in the paleopopulation structure. But a mixed population with Central Asian admixture came from the East in the Turkic period. A small proportion of this South Siberian morphological type is observed in the later Bakal groups. Superstrata component of Kushnarenkovo, which was identified basing on the archaeological materials, is not observed in the anthropological structure of the Bakal population. Odontology data gives a similar conclusion. A complex of odontology traits suggests heterogeneity of the group. Besides, Sargatka component was transformed under the influence of migration from the Eastern part of the forest-steppe zone of Western Siberia and Central Asia. Sargatka component in the Bakal group looks much more indistinct, compared with the population of the Baraba forest-steppe. Markers of the Southern gracile type almost disappear, being replaced by Western Siberian complex.

The article investigates a cranial series originating from five burials from the right bank of the Irtysh River. The series characterizes the physical appearance of the Turkic (Kimak-Kipchak) population of the steppe part of the Middle Irtysh territory in the X–XII centuries. Craniological complexes in the group studied are predominantly mixed, having both Caucasoid and Mongoloid traits and their racial affinity can be defined as a subdued variant of a combination of South Siberian racial traits. A comparative analysis demonstrated that the Kimak-Kipchak population of the left bank of the Irtysh River with the apparent predominance of Caucasoid features is significantly different from the right bank group. Thus, the anthropology of the Turkic population was heterogeneous and included elements that varied in the degree in which Mongoloid and Caucasoid racial traits were expressed.

Tam Hang was opened in 1934 by Jacques Fromaget who worked at the Geological survey of Indochina. 17 skulls were discovered by Fromage, but the Museum has only 10 whole skulls. Six skulls and postcranial skeletons belonged to six individuals. And in total 3 male and 4 female postcranial skeletons was studied osteologically. The obtained date of one skeleton from burial was 15,7±0,8 ka. The population Tam Hang from was morphologically uniform according the angular morphometry of skulls. Craniologically men from Tam Hang were heterogeneous. One of them was similar to the sample from the Combe Capelle, another was close to the group of skulls from Pzedmosti. Characteristics of people from the Tam Hang were: a small body length, relatively elongated lower leg in male individuals and the elongated forearm in women that could be associated with adaptations to hot climatic conditions. The group was noted of the frequent occurrence of sacralization of last lumbar vertebra and so increasing of sacrum strength. Main pathologies associated with diseases of the teeth-jaw apparatus.

Preliminary results of anthropological analysis of new series materials from the excavation 2010–2013 medieval Bolgar necropolises in 2010–2013 are presented in the article. According the cranial program 152 skulls (80 male and 72 female) were studied and grouped into five series. Skulls from the cemeteries located in the southern part of the Bolgar settlement (necropolis near the former airport and excavation 174 (CLXXIV)) are morphologically similar. They are generally characterized by mezocranial shape of the skull, gracile face constitution and weakened prominence of the nasal bones. The series from cemeteries of northern part of the settlement (necropolis at Commemorative mark and excavation trench 191 (CXCI)) are also typologically similar, but described by different craniological complex. It is characterized by brachycranial skull shape, wider and higher face combined with a large angle of the nose. The mixed series from mausoleums shows racial differences by sex assignment (men – caucasians, women – mongoloid). Comparative analysis of intergroup cranial series has once again confirmed the thesis of an inhomogeneous anthropological structure of the medieval Bolgar population that is probably due to its various ethno-cultural and ethno genetic origins.

A craniological study of a group of the 13-14th-century Kostroma city dwellers is presented in the article. The intra-group analysis has revealed that the series of skulls of the townspeople is characterized by considerable heterogeneity: there are different variations of the Caucasoid structure of the skull. The intergroup analysis involving materials related to the population of Eastern Europe in the first half of the 2nd millennium has demonstrated that various groups of the Krivichi from the territory of the former Yaroslavl, Smolensk, Tver and Kostroma provinces (gubernias) are most closely related to the 13-14th-century Kostroma dwellers. The Krivichi from the Kostroma province (that is from the immediate rural districts of Kostroma) are the closest to the group under study.

Generalized scheme for description of craniometric characters of mammals is presented, with detailed analysis of each group of signs (overall, braincase, rostrum, and mandible). Unified system of acronyms for designation of measurements is proposed and applied. Partial schemes are presented, separately for each typical representative of main orders known in the fauna of Ukraine: rodents (Sylvaemus), bats (Eptesicus), insectivores (Crocidura), carnivores (Mustela), ungulates (Capreolus). All partial schemes are illustrated by photos with designations of key points for measurements. Each partial scheme includes about 15–20 metric features. Problems of “excess”, small-sized and group-specific features as well as size of samples are discussed. The application of description of craniometric variation was considered: diagnostics of closed species, differentiation of age and sex groups, analysis of geographic variation, growth changes of features, study of evolutional and ecomorphological differentiation of species etc.