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Introduction. The article presents the results of paleogenetic studies of medieval human remains of three people found in a closed archaeological complex (building 32) revealed during the excavations in 2007 in the Taynitsky Garden of the Moscow Kremlin (supervisor of excavations: N.A. Makarov). Previous studies on the dating of the complex links it to the devastation of Moscow by the troops of Tokhtamysh Khan in August 1382. The archaeological layer was formed at a time as a result of a fire and contained the remains of two adults and a 3-4 year old child who remained unburied. The aim of this work was the genetic study of the ancient DNA of the remains of people who died in the 14th century, clarification of their gender, determination of kinship and presumptive origin. Material and methods. For genetic examination, teeth were selected (permanent for adults, primary for a child). The laboratory research algorithm included a set of measures to protect archaeological DNA from contamination, sample preparation and extraction of DNA from dental remains, analysis of STR markers of the Y chromosome in males, analysis of ALU markers of autosomal chromosomes, targeted NGS sequencing of hyper-variable segments of mitochondrial DNA. Results and conclusion. Using the methods of molecular genetic research, it was possible to confirm that a man, a young woman and a child (boy) died in the fire. Based on the analysis of autosomal markers, with a high degree of probability (99.9%), a close biological relationship between a woman and a child (mother-son) was revealed. The man was not a relative of either the woman or the child. The mtDNA haplogroups and STR markers of the male specific Y chromosome identified in all three individuals are generally characteristic of the Slavic population of modern Europe. The mt haplogroup J1c, found in mother and child, is now most characteristic of the inhabitants of Europe. The man has a mitochondrial haplogroup K2, which is found mainly in Northwestern Europe.

We have examined 942 skulls from the collections of the Anuchin Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology (13 craniological collections of the Arctic groups). We have analyzed the total frequency of HFI, used a comparative intergroup analysis, and evaluated the degree of HFI expression and the distribution of the trait according to sex and age. Univariate nonparametric statistics was applied. Results. It was found that the rate of HFI in the Arctic groups is much lower than in other groups of modern Eurasian and American populations. In the combined series, HFI was equally represented in both males and females. However, according to the age distribution, the male and female groups are different. HFI was more frequent in males in the Adultus and Maturus groups and in the Senilis group in females. Discussion. The significantly lower frequency of HFI in the Arctic series relative to the other modern groups show us a low level of metabolic disorders in the Arctic population and a good adaptation to the type of nutrition and living in extreme conditions. The obtained data show the predominance of the trait in the groups of mature and elderly women, and the appearance of HFI of different severity in men regardless of the age category. Probably, in the Arctic samples in women, HFI identifies metabolic disorders due to normal hormonal changes in women aging. HFI should be considered as an indicator of the presence of metabolic disorders in young and mature age in Arctic men group.

Determination of biological sex to human remains is a fundamental requirement in anthropological, archeological, and forensic anthropological studies. Sex determination based on morphological criteria is significantly limited in the cases of juvenile remains and adult skeletons in a poor state of preservation. Regular attempts have been made to use alternative techniques to resolve this issue, including analysis of tooth enamel peptides by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. Optimization of this method involving acid etching of tooth enamel for 10 min followed by desalting of the products of etching on SDB-RPS StageTips microcolumns and analysis of desalted sample (1/3) by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry allowed reliable sex determination to fossil remains within a wide range of archeological and biological ages without destructing analyzed teeth. Increasing the duration of enamel etching ensured a 2 to 3-fold increase in the total number of identified peptides and, more importantly, in the number of identified fragments of amelogenin Y isoform specific for male teeth, which facilitated reliable sex determination of fossil remains. The suggested technique was tested with 8 permanent and 15 deciduous teeth of different archaeological age and different degree of preservation. Two amelogenin Y-specific peptide sequences were identified. One of these peptides [SM(+15.99)IRPPYS)] was found in all male-derived samples without exception; the other peptide [IRPPYSS(+79.97)], which contained phosphorylated Ser66 residue, was found only in the enamel from deciduous teeth, which suggests that phosphorylation of Ser66 plays a role in the enamel formation in deciduous teeth.

Archaeogenetic studies have described the formation of Eurasian ‘steppe ancestry’ as a mixture of Eastern and Caucasus hunter-gatherers. However, it remains unclear when and where this ancestry arose and whether it was related to a horizon of cultural innovations in the 4th millennium BCE that subsequently facilitated the advance of pastoral societies in Eurasia. Here we generated genome-wide SNP data from 45 prehistoric individuals along a 3000-year temporal transect in the North Caucasus. We observe a genetic separation between the groups of the Caucasus and those of the adjacent steppe. The northern Caucasus groups are genetically similar to contemporaneous populations south of it, suggesting human movement across the mountain range during the Bronze Age. The steppe groups from Yamnaya and subsequent pastoralist cultures show evidence for previously undetected farmer-related ancestry from different contact zones, while Steppe Maykop individuals harbour additional Upper Palaeolithic Siberian and Native American related ancestry., The Caucasus mountain range has impacted on the culture and genetics of the wider region. Here, the authors generate genome-wide SNP data for 45 Eneolithic and Bronze Age individuals across the Caucasus, and find distinct genetic clusters between mountain and steppe zones as well as occasional gene-flow.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) has been infecting humans for millennia and remains a global health problem, but its past diversity and dispersal routes are largely unknown. We generated HBV genomic data from 137 Eurasians and Native Americans dated between ~10,500 and ~400 years ago. We date the most recent common ancestor of all HBV lineages to between ~20,000 and 12,000 years ago, with the virus present in European and South American hunter-gatherers during the early Holocene. After the European Neolithic transition, Mesolithic HBV strains were replaced by a lineage likely disseminated by early farmers that prevailed throughout western Eurasia for ~4000 years, declining around the end of the 2nd millennium BCE. The only remnant of this prehistoric HBV diversity is the rare genotype G, which appears to have reemerged during the HIV pandemic., The research was funded by the Max Planck Society, the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (771234–PALEoRIDER, to W.H.; 805268–CoDisEASe to K. Bos; 834616–ARCHCAUCASUS to S.H.), the Slovak Academy of Sciences and the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme and Marie Curie Actions under the Programme SASPRO (1340/03/03 to P.C.R.), the ERA.NET RUS Plus–S&T programm of the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (277–BIOARCCAUCASUS to S.Re. and S.H.), the Werner Siemens Stiftung (“Paleobiochemistry”, to CW), the Award Praemium Academiae of the Czech Academy of Sciences (to M.E.), the Institute of Archaeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences (RVO 67985912, to M.Dobe.), the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (19-09-00354a, to M.K.K. and V.V.K.; 19-78-10053 to SSh), the German Research Foundation (DFG-HA-5407/4-1–INTERACT to W.H. and RE2688/2 to S.Re.), the French National Research Agency (ANR-17-FRAL-0010–INTERACT, to M.F.D., M.Ri., S.Ro., S.Sai., D.Bi., and P.Le.), the Wenner-Gren Dissertation Fieldwork Grant (9558 to S.Sab.), and the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan (AP08856654 to L.B.D., L.M., and E.Kh. and AP08857177 to A.Z.B.).

The Viking maritime expansion from Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway, and Sweden) marks one of the swiftest and most far-flung cultural transformations in global history. During this time (c. 750 to 1050 CE), the Vikings reached most of western Eurasia, Greenland, and North America, and left a cultural legacy that persists till today. To understand the genetic structure and influence of the Viking expansion, we sequenced the genomes of 442 ancient humans from across Europe and Greenland ranging from the Bronze Age (c. 2400 BC) to the early Modern period (c. 1600 CE), with particular emphasis on the Viking Age. We find that the period preceding the Viking Age was accompanied by foreign gene flow into Scandinavia from the south and east: spreading from Denmark and eastern Sweden to the rest of Scandinavia. Despite the close linguistic similarities of modern Scandinavian languages, we observe genetic structure within Scandinavia, suggesting that regional population differences were already present 1,000 years ago. We find evidence for a majority of Danish Viking presence in England, Swedish Viking presence in the Baltic, and Norwegian Viking presence in Ireland, Iceland, and Greenland. Additionally, we see substantial foreign European ancestry entering Scandinavia during the Viking Age. We also find that several of the members of the only archaeologically well-attested Viking expedition were close family members. By comparing Viking Scandinavian genomes with present-day Scandinavian genomes, we find that pigmentation-associated loci have undergone strong population differentiation during the last millennia. Finally, we are able to trace the allele frequency dynamics of positively selected loci with unprecedented detail, including the lactase persistence allele and various alleles associated with the immune response. We conclude that the Viking diaspora was characterized by substantial foreign engagement: distinct Viking populations influenced the genomic makeup of different regions of Europe, while Scandinavia also experienced increased contact with the rest of the continent.

Ancient genomic time-transect across the Central Asian Steppe sheds new light onto the origins and demise of the Scythians., The Scythians were a multitude of horse-warrior nomad cultures dwelling in the Eurasian steppe during the first millennium BCE. Because of the lack of first-hand written records, little is known about the origins and relations among the different cultures. To address these questions, we produced genome-wide data for 111 ancient individuals retrieved from 39 archaeological sites from the first millennia BCE and CE across the Central Asian Steppe. We uncovered major admixture events in the Late Bronze Age forming the genetic substratum for two main Iron Age gene-pools emerging around the Altai and the Urals respectively. Their demise was mirrored by new genetic turnovers, linked to the spread of the eastern nomad empires in the first centuries CE. Compared to the high genetic heterogeneity of the past, the homogenization of the present-day Kazakhs gene pool is notable, likely a result of 400 years of strict exogamous social rules.

Humans have a notable capacity to withstand the ravages of infectious diseases. Smallpox killed millions of people but drove Jenner's invention of vaccination, which eventually led to the annihilation of this virus, declared in 1980. To investigate the history of smallpox, Mühlemann et al. obtained high-throughput shotgun sequencing data from 1867 human remains ranging from >31,000 to 150 years ago (see the Perspective by Alcamí). Thirteen positive samples emerged, 11 of which were northern European Viking Age people (6th to 7th century CE). Although the sequences were patchy and incomplete, four could be used to infer a phylogenetic tree. This showed distinct Viking Age lineages with multiple gene inactivations. The analysis pushes back the date of the earliest variola infection in humans by ∼1000 years and reveals the existence of a previously unknown virus clade. This is the author’s version of the work. It is posted here by permission of the AAAS for personal use, not for redistribution.

The flanks of the Caucasus Mountains and the steppe landscape to their north offered highly productive grasslands for Bronze Age herders and their flocks of sheep, goat, and cattle. While the archaeological evidence points to a largely pastoral lifestyle, knowledge regarding the general composition of human diets and their variation across landscapes and during the different phases of the Bronze Age is still restricted. Human and animal skeletal remains from the burial mounds that dominate the archaeological landscape and their stable isotope compositions are major sources of dietary information. Here, we present stable carbon and nitrogen isotope data of bone collagen of 105 human and 50 animal individuals from the 5th millennium BC to the Sarmatian period, with a strong focus on the Bronze Age and its cultural units including Maykop, Yamnaya, Novotitorovskaya, North Caucasian, Catacomb, post-Catacomb and late Bronze Age groups. The samples comprise all inhumations with sufficient bone preservation from five burial mound sites and a flat grave cemetery as well as subsamples from three further sites. They represent the Caucasus Mountains in the south, the piedmont zone and Kuban steppe with humid steppe and forest vegetation to its north, and more arid regions in the Caspian steppe. The stable isotope compositions of the bone collagen of humans and animals varied across the study area and reflect regional diversity in environmental conditions and diets. The data agree with meat, milk, and/or dairy products from domesticated herbivores, especially from sheep and goats having contributed substantially to human diets, as it is common for a largely pastoral economy. This observation is also in correspondence with the faunal remains observed in the graves and offerings of animals in the mound shells. In addition, foodstuffs with elevated carbon and nitrogen isotope values, such as meat of unweaned animals, fish, or plants, also contributed to human diets, especially among communities living in the more arid landscapes. The regional distinction of the animal and human data with few outliers points to mobility radii that were largely concentrated within the environmental zones in which the respective sites are located. In general, dietary variation among the cultural entities as well as regarding age, sex and archaeologically indicated social status is only weakly reflected. There is, however, some indication for a dietary shift during the Early Bronze Age Maykop period.

Understanding the Palaeolithic emergence of human social complexity opens up a key perspective on later periods of cultural evolution. Palaeolithic mortuary practice is particularly revealing, as it echoes the social statuses of both the living and the dead. The famous Sunghir burials fall at the beginning of this sequence. Bioarchaeological analysis of the Sunghir individuals, viewed in the context of earlier Upper Palaeolithic mortuary behaviour more generally, reveals the concurrent practice of a range of funerary treatments, some of which are probably related to individual pathological abnormalities. Through this approach, the Sunghir burials become more than just an example of elaborate Palaeolithic burial, and highlight the diversity of early social and mortuary behaviours.

Archaeological evidence indicates that the original settlement of the Altai occurred by ∼800 ka. The next major wave of hominin migration occurred by approximately 500–400 ka, followed by another one at ∼300 ka. Archaeological findings indicate a continuous evolution of lithic industries between 80 and 10 ka across the Altai. At about 55–45 ka, a small group of Neanderthals appeared in the Altai, producing various forms of lithics at places such as Okladnikov Cave and Chagyrskaya Cave. In the case of Denisova Cave, we suggest that the probable assimilation of Neanderthals occurred without any significant changes in material culture. The current archaeological patterns are well matched with the paleogenomic data from the region. Genetic data suggest that Denisovans were present in the area during at least two separate occasions and over a long period of time, with their presence perhaps interrupted by Neanderthal occupation. The analysis of odontological data shows that Denisovans preserved some archaic mo...

The Viking maritime expansion from Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway, and Sweden) marks one of the swiftest and most far-flung cultural transformations in global history. During this time (c. 750 to 1050 CE), the Vikings reached most of western Eurasia, Greenland, and North America, and left a cultural legacy that persists till today. To understand the genetic structure and influence of the Viking expansion, we sequenced the genomes of 442 ancient humans from across Europe and Greenland ranging from the Bronze Age (c. 2400 BC) to the early Modern period (c. 1600 CE), with particular emphasis on the Viking Age. We find that the period preceding the Viking Age was accompanied by foreign gene flow into Scandinavia from the south and east: spreading from Denmark and eastern Sweden to the rest of Scandinavia. Despite the close linguistic similarities of modern Scandinavian languages, we observe genetic structure within Scandinavia, suggesting that regional population differences were already present 1,000 years ago. We find evidence for a majority of Danish Viking presence in England, Swedish Viking presence in the Baltic, and Norwegian Viking presence in Ireland, Iceland, and Greenland. Additionally, we see substantial foreign European ancestry entering Scandinavia during the Viking Age. We also find that several of the members of the only archaeologically well-attested Viking expedition were close family members. By comparing Viking Scandinavian genomes with present-day Scandinavian genomes, we find that pigmentation-associated loci have undergone strong population differentiation during the last millennia. Finally, we are able to trace the allele frequency dynamics of positively selected loci with unprecedented detail, including the lactase persistence allele and various alleles associated with the immune response. We conclude that the Viking diaspora was characterized by substantial foreign engagement: distinct Viking populations influenced the genomic makeup of different regions of Europe, while Scandinavia also experienced increased contact with the rest of the continent.

International audience; The invasion of Russia by the Napoleonic Grande Armée was a complete disaster. The French army was decimated during the retreat from Russia. Thousands of victims were buried in mass graves located near several cities during the retreat. One of these mass graves was discovered in in the centre of Kaliningrad (formerly Königsberg), presently the most occidental oblast of the Russian Federation. Some skeletons revealed evidence of violence related traumatic injuries. Among them, the skeleton C2 belonged to a young male, who had suffered a serious injury to the lower face. The state of post‐traumatic remodelling indicated survival of about 2 months (between more than 6 weeks and less than 3 months).The 3D reconstruction of the mandible and the maxilla contributed additional information about the injury, its cause, and treatment. This permitted pretraumatic reconstruction of the viscerocranium and mandible through the application of two new techniques: virtual osteotomy and virtual bone transplant from another individual and perform an approximation of the face (to recreate the soft tissues) of this unidentified soldier using anthropological facial approximation in three dimensions software. These results highlight the use of 3D methods in paleopathology and forensic anthropology to reconstruct traumatic facial injuries and the pretraumatic facial appearance.

This article, based on a presentation at a meeting of the RAS Presidium, describes a reconstruction of the lifestyle of early humans who lived on the territory of the Minino archaeological complex (Vologda oblast) in different chronological periods. It is shown that the use of various natural-science methods (analysis of microelements and isotopes and radiological, zooarchaeological, paleopathological, and anthropological methods) and methods of statistics in studying anthropological materials significantly widens the number of sources that form the scope of data for the paleoecological reconstruction of the living environment at early stages of the development of society.

Summary Modern humans have inhabited the Lake Baikal region since the Upper Paleolithic, though the precise history of its peoples over this long time span is still largely unknown. Here, we report genome-wide data from 19 Upper Paleolithic to Early Bronze Age individuals from this Siberian region. An Upper Paleolithic genome shows a direct link with the First Americans by sharing the admixed ancestry that gave rise to all non-Arctic Native Americans. We also demonstrate the formation of Early Neolithic and Bronze Age Baikal populations as the result of prolonged admixture throughout the eighth to sixth millennium BP. Moreover, we detect genetic interactions with western Eurasian steppe populations and reconstruct Yersinia pestis genomes from two Early Bronze Age individuals without western Eurasian ancestry. Overall, our study demonstrates the most deeply divergent connection between Upper Paleolithic Siberians and the First Americans and reveals human and pathogen mobility across Eurasia during the Bronze Age.

Archaeogenetic studies have described the formation of Eurasian ‘steppe ancestry’ as a mixture of Eastern and Caucasus hunter-gatherers. However, it remains unclear when and where this ancestry arose and whether it was related to a horizon of cultural innovations in the 4thmillennium BCE that subsequently facilitated the advance of pastoral societies likely linked to the dispersal of Indo-European languages. To address this, we generated genome-wide SNP data from 45 prehistoric individuals along a 3000-year temporal transect in the North Caucasus. We observe a genetic separation between the groups of the Caucasus and those of the adjacent steppe. The Caucasus groups are genetically similar to contemporaneous populations south of it, suggesting that – unlike today – the Caucasus acted as a bridge rather than an insurmountable barrier to human movement. The steppe groups from Yamnaya and subsequent pastoralist cultures show evidence for previously undetected farmer-related ancestry from different contact zones, while Steppe Maykop individuals harbour additional Upper Palaeolithic Siberian and Native American related ancestry.

The study of human skeletal remains in Russia had its genesis in the late seventeenth century during the reign of Tsar Peter the Great who was instrumental in the foundation of the Kunstkamera Museum and the Russian Academy of Sciences in Saint Petersburg. Physical anthropology was recognised as a discipline in its own right during the nineteenth century, because of the efforts of scientists working in both Saint Petersburg and Moscow; this development paved the way for the modern structures within which it still operates today. The paper reviews the birth of physical anthropology in Russia and examines the concept of ‘race’ within the Russian context. Physical anthropology flourished during the Soviet era and the reasons for this are explored, while the major developments are outlined. The paper ends by examining the changes in the field that have occurred since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.

The chapter provides the reconstruction of lifestyle of the Mesolithic people in the northern part of Eastern Europe. Comparison of archaeological, archaeozoological and anthropological data demonstrates that the series analyzed represented groups of hunters on terrestrial mammals and fisherman. There are no specific features distinguishing people of the region from contemporaneous groups in the north of Europe. According to paleopathological data, Mesolithic people had no chronic diseases or infections, and the series show an insignificant percentage of occurrence of the markers of physiological stress. The radiological analysis, as well as morphological has provided the evidence of heavy physical activities of individuals in the cool conditions, which emphasizes seasonality of negative factors of the environment in the daily life of hunter-gathers and fishermen.

Two Middle Paleolithic cave sites in the Altai – Okladnikov and Chagyrskaya – have yielded dental remains (mostly isolated teeth) of individuals of various ages. A newly discovered mandibular fragment with teeth from Chagyrskaya Cave reveals a Neanderthal trait combination: anterior fossa and epicristid (midtrigonid crest) on molars, metaconid and crest on premolars. The totality of dental traits support the conclusion previously drawn on the basis of postcranial characters: Altai Neanderthals appear to be intermediate between other Eurasian Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans.

The Mid Upper Paleolithic Sunghir 3 late juvenile early modern human, from the most elaborate burial in the Pleistocene, had pathologically foreshortened and anteriorly bowed femora and, based on her dental enamel hypoplasias and transverse lines, sustained severe and persistent systemic stress throughout her decade of life. Her modest femoral and tibial asymmetry and her femoral bicondylar angles indicate non-pathological patterns of posture and locomotion. The levels of rigidity for her weight-bearing tibiae and the non-dominant left arm reflect normal weight-bearing and manipulation. These indicators are combined with an elevated level of right humeral strength, leading to pronounced humeral diaphyseal asymmetry, combined with elevated muscular insertion asymmetry. In combination with marked upper limb muscle markings and normal levels of bone formation, these reflections of her robustness indicate that she was fully mobile and participated actively in the tasks of her social group. There is no indication of the skeletal hypotrophy/atrophy that would be associated with less than full participation in the mobility and subsistence of her social group. As such, Sunghir 3 joins a growing list of developmentally or degeneratively pathological Late Pleistocene humans who nonetheless remained mobile and active. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Sunghir 2 and 3 late juvenile to early adolescent immature skeletons, from the Mid Upper Paleolithic (Eastern Gravettian) of northern Russia, exhibit several episodes of dental enamel hypoplasias. Those of the older male Sunghir 2 relate principally to a stress episode in the third year post-natal, although subsequent minor stress episodes may be indicated. They are not accompanied by other marked developmental abnormalities. The younger female Sunghir 3 exhibits at least three episodes of pronounced post-natal stress through the third to fifth years post-natal, followed by femoral and tibial growth arrest lines that formed shortly before her death at 9–11 years. These first decade post-natal stress episodes of Sunghir 3 may be related to the same developmental condition that produced her abnormally bowed femora pre-natally and/or to continued frailty related to that condition. Surviving these stress episodes for different lengths of time, both Sunghir 2 and 3 were awarded the most elaborate Paleolithic burial known. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Mid Upper Paleolithic Sunghir 1 burial of an older adult male is one of the most elaborate burials known, with red ochre, thousands of mammoth ivory beads, and other body ornaments. Reanalysis and cleaning of the skeletal remains revealed a perimortem incision in the ventral–lateral first thoracic vertebra (T1) body, most likely from a sharp blade or point and the probable cause of death. Context indicates that the trauma was most likely from a hunting accident or social altercation. The unusual cause of death may be correlated with the exceptional burial elaboration of Sunghir 1, adding to the high frequency of unusual individuals in the ‘red ochre’ burials of the Mid Upper Paleolithic. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A fossil humerus from Khoroshevsky Island, Khvalynsk, Saratov Province, previously believed to have been lost eighty years ago, was studied by osteometric, X-ray, tomographic, histological, and paleopathological methods. The results suggest that the fossil represents an adult Neanderthal, apparently male, displaying a peculiar hormonal status which fi nds no direct parallels among known human physiological conditions, either normal or pathological.

Many valuable items owned by Russian academic museums have not yet received due attention. Among them is a fossil human humerus which for eighty years was believed to have been lost. The authors publish a handwritten document reporting on the discovery of a calotte and a humerus on Khoroshevsky Island, Khvalynsk, Central Russia. The geological context and accompanying faunal material suggest that the human remains date to the Late Acheulean or Early Mousterian age.

The double child burial from Sunghir (Russia) is a spectacular Mid Upper Palaeolithic funerary example dated to about 24,000 BP. A boy (Sunghir 2) and a girl (Sunghir 3), about 12-13 and 9-10 years old, respectively, were buried at the same time, head to head, covered by red ocher and ornamented with extraordinarily rich grave goods. Examination of the two skeletons reveals that the Sunghir 3 femora are short and exhibit marked antero-posterior bowing. The two femora do not show any asymmetry in the degree of shortening and bowing. Bowing affects the whole diaphysis and shows a regularly incurved profile, with the highest point at midshaft. Pathology is confined to the femora, and no other part of this well-preserved specimen shows abnormality. The isolated nature of the Sunghir 3 anomalies points to cases reported in the medical literature under the label of "congenital bowing of long bones" (CBLB). These are a group of rare conditions exhibiting localized, sometimes bilateral, bowing and shortening which are nonspecific and may result from different causes, including abnormalities of the primary cartilaginous anlage (i.e., the aggregation of cells representing the first trace of an organ). Localized ossification disturbances, possibly linked to a diabetic maternal condition, might explain the shortening and the coincidence of maximum midshaft curvature with the position of the primary ossification center, as well as the lack of involvement of other skeletal parts. This scenario, rather than other possibilities (early bilateral midshaft fracture, acute plastic bowing deformities, or faulty fetal posture), provides the most likely explanation for the Sunghir 3 femoral deformities. The intriguing combination of a pathological condition apparent since birth with a spectacular burial of unusually positioned young individuals of different sexes recalls significant aspects of the triple burial from the contemporary site of Dolní Vestonice (Moravia), evoking a patterned relationship between physical abnormality and extraordinary Upper Paleolithic funerary behavior.

Forty-seven individual mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) samples isolated from bones samples found in the Nefedyevo, Minino, and Shuygino gravesites have been analyzed to perform molecular genetic study of the medieval (12th to 13th centuries AD) human population from the vicinity of Lake Beloe (Vologda oblast, northern Russia). The mitotypic structure of the population has been determined on the basis of sequencing the mtDNA hypervariable-region segment I (HVSI; positions 15 989–16 410). Three mitotypes characterizing the population studied have been found in the 47 representatives of the medieval population: mitotype 1 corresponding to the Cambridge reference sequence, mitotype 2 (transition G–A at position 16 129), and mitotype 3 (transitions G–A and C–T at loci 16 129 and 16 223, respectively). Mitotypes 1, 2, and 3 have been found in 91.6, 4.2, and 4.2% of the individual samples studied. This high frequency of the Cambridge mitotype is considerably higher than its mean frequencies in European populations. The frequencies of other mitotypes found correspond to their mean European values. The absence of a Mongoloid component has been demonstrated for the female lineage of the population. Comparison of the molecular genetic characteristics of contemporary European ethnic groups and the population studied has demonstrated that it may be assigned to the European population group. The high homogeneity of the mitochondrial pool suggests a strong founder effect, which agrees with the view of archeologists and anthropologists that the first migrant settlers were very few.

The preceding chapters provide extensive information on the context, mortuary rituals, skeletal and dental morphology and morphometrics, dental wear, functional anatomy, paleopathology, and paleochemistry of the human remains from the northern Russian site of Sunghir. The three associated skeletons from Graves 1 and 2 provide the overwhelming volume of data and inferences on the Pleistocene people of Sunghir. Yet the other elements help to fill out a few aspects of the sample. It would be possible, if arduous, to summarize here the various aspects of these human remains that are detailed in the preceding chapters. However, many of the aspects relate to the interpretation of a specific anatomical unit or functional complex. As such, they provide insight into the evolution of these complexes through the Late Pleistocene, as well as inferences regarding their configurations at Sunghir and other Early/Mid Upper Paleolithic (E/MUP) sites. To review each one here would be unnecessarily redundant. Of more interest at this point is to try to fit these people into their Mid Upper Paleolithic (MUP) context and to assess degrees to which the Sunghir human remains might contribute to some of the more general issues relating to last interpleniglacial human populations. In this context, there are aspects of population dynamics, for which the Sunghir humans have some bearing. These aspects involve, in particular, issues of consanguinity and population stability. It has been suggested, based on shared unusual anatomical features, that several of the MUP human skeletal samples (particularly those from multiple burials) include closely related individuals. This has been suggested in particular for the samples from Barma Grande (Formicola 1990), Bausu da Ture (Villotte et al. 2011), Dolní Věstonice II (Vlček 1991; but see data in Fu et al. 2013), and Fanciulli (Grotte des Enfants; Vlček 1965), as well as the El Sidrón Neandertal site (Lalueza-Fox et al. 2011). Moreover, it seems likely that most of these contemporaneous groups of individuals were closely related, if one provides an even generous estimate of the human population densities on the European MUP landscape and the need for individuals to find appropriate mates for reproduction (cf. Wobst 1976).

Assessment of the ages-at-death and the probable sexes of the Sunghir humans provides a baseline for their paleobiological evaluation. The former is particularly important for the comparative analysis of the immature Sunghir 2 and 3 skeletons, given the marked changes in size and shape with development. The latter is more important for the adult Sunghir 1, 5, and 6 remains, given some degree of sexual dimorphism among recent humans and apparently within Late Pleistocene early modern humans. In the assessment of age-at-death, it is necessary to evaluate the remains with reference to chronological scales derived from extant human populations of known age (or very recent historical skeletal samples with documented ages). This consideration applies particularly to changes in fibrocartilaginous articulations with age (in this case, a sternal rib end and an auricular surface of Sunghir 1) and to dental calcification during development (for Sunghir 2 and 3). The majority of the data available for these approaches derives from recent European and European-derived (primarily North American) populations, with occasional cross-references to more limited data on recent populations from elsewhere in the Old World. The one exception to this requirement is dental occlusal attrition, for which very general Late Pleistocene (and preindustrial Holocene) reference samples are appropriate, in all cases using scales that are based either on other methods of skeletal aging or employ some version of the “Miles technique” (sequential assessment of dental wear for postcanine teeth as they come into functional occlusion; Brothwell 1981). The determination of sex is most reliable when it utilizes the pelvis, and there is a series of criteria for pelvic sexual evaluation that appear to be universal among recent humans (Brůžek 2002). These dimorphic features mostly appear during adolescence associated with differential lateral development of the pelvis (Coleman 1969; Lavelle 1995). Dimorphic aspects of the greater sciatic notch may appear prior to puberty (Holcomb and Konigsberg 1995; Scheuer and Black 2000), but tests sexing recent human immature skeletons of known sex have provided poor results and tend to identify males more accurately than females (Cardoso and Saunders 2008; Vlak et al. 2008; Wilson et al. 2008).

Given their burial positions, on their backs with the trunks and limbs extended, the Sunghir 1 to 3 individuals should have retained major portions of their axial skeletons. This is the case for Sunghir 2 and 3, both of whom retain all of the cervical vertebrae, most of their thoracic and lumbar vertebrae, and major portions of their sacra. Sunghir 2 preserves portions of 23 of the 24 ribs, and Sunghir 3 retains at least a small piece of each of her 24 ribs. Moreover her left fifth and sixth ribs lack only their costal cartilage surfaces. Only Sunghir 3 preserves any elements of the sternum, two partial and separated sternebral segments. In contrast, despite the apparent presence of major portions of the axial skeleton in situ, little remains of the Sunghir 1 vertebrae, ribs, or sternum. The cervical vertebrae are absent, unless pieces of them are mixed with the collection of what appear to be thoracic and lumbar fragments. Only two vertebrae remain reasonably intact, the T1 and T2. There are eight pieces of vertebral bodies, one of which has a pathological growth (chapter 17). The ribs consist of small pieces, except for a largely intact left first rib. Although evident in the in situ photographs, nothing remains of the manubrium. There is also a piece of distal middle rib, which is of use for the age-at-death assessment. Some of the vertebral and rib pieces have been sacrificed over the years for direct radiocarbon dating (e.g., Kuzmin et al. 2004). Others pieces, heavily fissured and hence probably descending into fragments during excavation, were only partially retained. There are nonetheless a few aspects of the Sunghir axial skeletons, beyond age assessments (chapter 6), the pathological lesions on the Sunghir 1 vertebrae (chapter 17), use of the sacra in the pelves (chapter 14), and body length scaling for Sunghir 2 and 3 (chapter 11), that are of interest.

Considerations of the body proportions and estimates of body mass and stature of the Sunghir people provide a general baseline for the assessment of a variety of aspects of their paleobiology. They also furnish some indications by themselves. Some of these aspects have been men­tioned with respect to sexual assessment of the adult remains (especially Sunghir 1 and 4; chapter 6), and methodological considerations have been addressed in part in chapter 5. What is presented here is a more detailed assessment of size in terms of body mass estimation and stature, and considerations of body proportions to the extent that they can be evaluated for Sunghir 1, 2 and 3. Body mass estimation was discussed in chapter 5, and it is done here exclusively using the dimension of the weight-bearing femoral articulations and/or metaphyses. It provides insights into trends in overall body size and health, but it is also central to the appropriate scaling of other aspects of morphology, from limb length and strength to brain size. Since the early comments of Boule (1911–1913) and Coon (1962), there has been a series of attempts to evaluate the body proportions (principally using limb segment lengths but also body breadth and trunk length) of Pleistocene humans as indications of both ecogeographical patterning among Late Pleistocene humans and possible reflections of their population dynamics (e.g., Trinkaus 1981, 2007; Walker and Leakey 1993; Ruff 1994; Holliday 1997a, 1997b, 2000, 2006a; Trinkaus and Zilhão 2002; Frelat 2007). The critical problem in assessing body proportions is to determine the independent variable. This must be done a priori, based on biological considerations. Stature estimation presents a variety of difficulties among Late Pleistocene humans, given variation in linear body proportions, but it can provide an indication of overall health, especially given the trends evident through the European Upper Paleolithic (Formicola and Giannecchini 1999; Holt and Formicola 2008). Assessments of body proportions depend in part on body mass estimation, and stature predictions depend on body proportions.

Throughout the previous chapters detailing and comparing the Sunghir human remains, there have been frequent references to their abnormalities. Some of these unusual features are obvious and sufficiently pronounced as to remove the bones from direct paleobiological consideration (e.g., the Sunghir 1 pollical osteoarthrosis and the Sunghir 3 femoral diaphyses). Other features are modest and had no apparent effect on the functional anatomical interpretations (e.g., the Sunghir 1 ulnar carpometacarpal osteoarthrosis). A few aspects may modify either the considerations of the osteometric morphology (e.g., the Sunghir 1 frontal midline protrusion) or discrete traits (e.g., the Sunghir 2 dental asymmetries). Some of these features are obviously pathological and represent reflections of developmental or degenerative strains on the body (e.g., Sunghir 2 and 3 dental enamel hypoplasias (DEH), or the Sunghir 1 manual osteoarthrosis). Other aspects may not be pathological sensu stricto but they represent variations that push the limits of “normal” human variation (e.g., the Sunghir 1 femoral asymmetry and the Sunghir 3 foramina transversaria). These aspects that have been described in detail in previous chapters are referred to here, but the others, whose description has been deferred, are detailed in this chapter. A number of these abnormalities of the Sunghir human remains have been noted previously, beginning with Debetz’s (1967) initial observations on the Sunghir 1 skeleton, the initial description of the Sunghir 2 and 3 remains (Nikityuk and Kharitonov 1984), and Bukhman’s (1984) radiographic analysis of the Sunghir 3 remains. These and further observations and interpretations were made in the context of the 1990s’ reanalysis of the Sunghir remains (Buzhilova 2000b, 2000c; Mednikova 2000c, 2000d). There have subsequently been additional analyses of specific aspects of these abnormalities, including differential diagnosis of the Sunghir 3 femoral deformities (Formicola and Buzhilova 2004), description of the T1 injury to Sunghir 1 discovered in 2009 (Trinkaus and Buzhilova 2012), detailed assessment of the Sunghir 2 and 3 DEH (Guatelli-Steinberg et al. 2013), and assessment of the degree to which the deformities of Sunghir 3 might have affected her activity levels (Cowgill et al. 2012b).

Sunghir 1 to 3 retain substantial portions of their femora, patellae, tibiae, and fibulae, providing overall lengths, diaphyseal dimensions, and varying degrees of epiphyseal morphology. They are joined by the partial femoral diaphysis of Sunghir 4, which principally provides cross-sectional properties. There is also an isolated patella which may derive from Sunghir (chapter 4). The Sunghir 1 epiphyses are variably complete (despite extensive restorations in wax), and the distal half of his right femur was crushed anteroposteriorly. The Sunghir 2 leg bones are in better condition, as are the Sunghir 3 femora and tibiae. However, the Sunghir 3 femora are pathological and do not provide normal comparative data (see chapter 17). Quantitative and discrete data are provided for the Sunghir 3 femora here, as are some assessments of her femoral epiphyseal/metaphyseal morphology, but more detailed considerations of her femoral diaphyseal configurations are provided in chapter 17. As noted (chapter 4), the right femur of Sunghir 1 was crushed in situ, and the left one was sawed at midshaft (Figs. 15.1 and 15.2). It is not clear how much bone was removed from the left femur; if a piece similar to the one preserved for Sunghir 4 was removed, it was ~10 mm to 12 mm thick. The two halves of the Sunghir 1 left femur do not fit closely together, suggesting that they should be separated, possibly by more than the thickness of the saw blade. As a result, the bicondylar length provided here for the right femur (~496 mm) is close to one of Debetz (1967) (495 mm), but one measured on the left femur in its current state (~497 mm) is shorter than the bicondy­lar length provided by Debetz (500 mm). The bicondylar length of Debetz is therefore employed, and the biomechanical length has been increased 3 mm from its measured dimension. Given these measurements, the Sunghir 1 femur was probably only sawed and a small posterolateral piece of bone removed for histological analysis, whereas a piece (subsequently recovered) was removed from the Sunghir 4 femur.

This volume is concerned with the morphology and paleobiology of the human remains from Sunghir. As such, it is intended to contribute to our knowledge and understanding of the occupants of that locale in northern Russia during the Interpleniglacial [marine isotope stage (MIS) 3]. However, the Sunghir human remains take on meaning, and can be properly evaluated, only in the context of a broader sample of Late Pleistocene humans. The paleontological sources of the comparative samples are indicated below. In most cases, references are not provided for the specimens or sites, since to do so would be to provide an extensive bibliography for Late Pleistocene human remains. References are provided principally for the smaller non-western Eurasian and immature samples and for those of debated affinities. The principal sample of concern consists of individuals from the same general time period during MIS 3 as the Sunghir humans and those who generated the same general archeological complex. The time frame, sensu lato, is between ~30,000 and ~20,000 14C years BP, or ~34,000 and ~24,000 cal years BP. The archeological technocomplex (which is defined by more than just lithic technology), is the Mid Upper Paleolithic (or the Gravettian sensu lato, especially in central and western Europe). This complex is taken here to include a variety of regional variants, including the “Sunghirian” (see discussion in chapter 2). The regional differences in the archeological complexes, technologically or stylistically, are not of concern here; it is apparent that, despite differences in details of especially lithic technology, there was a broad level of cultural uniformity that extended across western Eurasia (Roebroeks et al. 2000) and probably continued into eastern Asia (Gerasimov 1935; Norton and Gao 2008). What is of most relevance is the general level of cultural elaboration and related patterning, as it might have affected the behavior, biology, and adaptations of the Sunghir humans. As a result, the comparative framework is principally that provided by the human remains from this time period.

As the interface between the body and technology, in all of its myriad forms, the skeletal hand morphology of Late Pleistocene humans has received increasing attention since the work of Sarasin (1932) and especially Musgrave (1970, 1971, 1973), as paleoanthropologists have documented a series of contrasts between archaic Homo and recent human hand bones (e.g., Vlček 1975; Trinkaus 1983b; Vandermeersch 1991; Niewoehner et al. 1997; Niewoehner 2001, 2008; Crevecoeur 2008; Lorenzo 2007; Trinkaus in press). However, since there were major changes in human technology between the Middle and Upper Paleolithic, and especially with the Mid Upper Paleolithic (MUP), the comparisons of concern should be between late archaic humans and early modern humans. For the Early Upper Paleolithic, the latter include relatively complete hand remains from Nazlet Khater 2 and scattered hand bones from Tianyuan 1 and Brassempouy (Henry-Gambier et al. 2004; Crevecoeur 2008; Shang and Trinkaus 2010). There are then relatively abundant hand remains from the MUP (Verneau 1906; Matiegka 1938; Mallegni et al. 1999; Sládek et al. 2000; Trinkaus 2006c; Trinkaus et al. 2010, 2014), including some immature ones (Mallegni and Parenti 1973; Sergi et al. 1974; Trinkaus et al. 2002b). Yet few of them have been described in detail. In this context, the Sunghir manual remains are described and select aspects are compared across Late Pleistocene samples (principally features that appear to change with the emergence of modern humans). For these descriptions and comparisons, the Sunghir 1 hand bones are paleontologically well preserved. Of the 54 bones potentially present for Sunghir 1 (not counting pollical sesamoid bones), 49 are known, and none sustained more than minor marginal erosion. The originally missing bones include one pisiform bone and four distal phalanges from the ulnar digits. During and after excavation, the right and left hands were mixed, so that the bones have been sorted based on morphology and (for the ulnar middle and distal phalanges) size.

The pelvis forms the interface between the trunk and the lower limb, as well as supporting the pelvic viscera, and as such its size and morphology reflect a diversity of biological pressures. Aspects of the Sunghir pelvic remains relating to the assessment of sex (pubic morphology, greater sciatic notch shape) and age (auricular surface, epiphyses) are presented in chapter 6, and the features of the sacrum (and coccyx) that are more strictly axial are discussed in chapter 10. The discussion here is concerned with the overall configurations of the Sunghir pelvic remains and more detailed aspects related to function. Given the male sex of Sunghir 1 and the prepubescent ages of Sunghir 2 and 3, reproductive issues beyond those related to sex assessment are not relevant to these remains. Unfortunately, the pelvis for which comparative data and biomechanical models of function exist, that of the adult male Sunghir 1, is the least complete, sufficiently so as to prevent the articulation of the elements. In contrast, the two immature pelves are quite complete, despite problems with reassembly given their immature status. Yet assessing their proportions is inhibited by issues of growth and development. The pelvis of Sunghir 1, as with most of its trunk (chapter 10), suffered extensively from vertical compres­sion in situ. The pubic bones are absent, and the ilia and ischia sustained considerable damage, much of which has been restored in wax. For example, the left acetabular rim is largely intact, but the lunate surface and acetabular notch are blended together with wax, obscuring details. The sacrum retains neither of its alae intact to the auricular surface. The Sunghir 2 and 3 pelves, in contrast, are largely present, with varying degrees of edge damage and loss of the thinner cortical bone, especially within the iliac fossae of Sunghir 3. However, both pelves retain their more cranial sacra, at least one intact sacroiliac articulation, and variable portions of the ischia and pubic bones. The primary difficulties in assessing the Sunghir 2 and 3 pelves derive from their immature status.

In addition to the functional, anatomical, and paleopathological reflections of the biology and behavior of the Sunghir humans, it has been possible to make indirect inferences regarding their average dietary profiles. These considerations derive from the mineral compositions of bone samples from Sunghir 1 to 4 (Kozlovskaya 2000d), carbon and nitrogen stable isotope data from the bone collagen of Sunghir 1 to 3 (Richards et al. 2001; Dobrovolskaya et al. 2012), and postcanine buccal microwear for Sunghir 1 to 3 (Pinilla 2012; Pinilla and Trinkaus in press). As noted in chapter 2, the site contained an abundance of large mammal remains, of which the bison, horse, saiga, and especially reindeer remains were undoubtedly brought to the site for human consumption. There was also an abundance of mammoth remains. There has been an ongoing debate as to the extent to which the mammoth remains, found at a number of central and eastern European and Siberian Mid Upper Paleolithic (MUP) sites, reflect human consumption, are largely incidental to the human presence having accumulating along the banks of gullies and streams, and/or were gathered from the landscape for use as raw material and even fuel (e.g., Soffer 1985; Derevianko et al. 2000; Svoboda et al. 2005; Wojtal and Wilczyński 2013). Systematic taphonomic analysis of the Sunghir faunal assemblage has not been undertaken, but Bader (1978) did notice the differential presence of mammoth skeletal elements at Sunghir, suggesting differential transport of body portions presumably for human consumption. Moreover, the mammoth bones were distributed through the cultural layer and apparently did not exist as a bone accumulation on the periphery of the site. At the same time, the faunal profile of the cultural layer contained a diversity of carnivores, of which the cave lions, wolves, and possibly brown bears could have been partially responsible for some of the herbivore remains at the site. It is possible that humans were hunting and eating the bears, given occasional cutmarks on bear bones at other MUP sites (Wojtal 2000; Münzel and Conard 2004).

During the Mid Upper Paleolithic, the period of Late Pleistocene human existence within the Interpleniglacial, human foraging populations developed an increasingly sophisticated, elaborated, and complicated existence across Eurasia and probably across most of the Old World. This period of the Paleolithic saw the emergence of various forms of elaborate technology (e.g., ceramics and textiles, as well as elaborations of lithic and organic tool manufacture and use), expanded artistic manifestations, complex social behaviors (especially reflected in personal decoration and mortuary behavior), and increasingly effective and flexible means of subsistence and food processing. For these reasons, the people of this period were referred to, a dozen years ago, as the “Hunters of the Golden Age” (Roebroeks et al. 2000). In those and other assessments of these people, referred to as “Gravettian” in central and western Europe and by other names further east, there is frequent reference to the material from the northern Russian site of Sunghir (Сунгирь; Sungir’). The references to Sunghir are especially to the extremely rich human burials discovered during excavations in 1964 and 1969. The human paleontological materials from Sunghir, however, have only been superficially integrated into the broader assessments of human existence during this time period of hunter-gatherer fluorescence. Several volumes (and innumerable articles) have been written on aspects of the archeological work done at the Sunghir site (e.g., Sukachev et al. 1966; O.N. Bader 1978; N.O. Bader 1998; Seleznev 2008), and there have been two edited volumes concerned principally with the human remains from within and without the burials (Zubov and Karitonov 1984; Alexeeva et al. 2000). However, all of these volumes (as is appropriate) are in Russian, and only the last of them contains extensive English summaries of the contributions. As a result (given the linguistically challenged nature of many Western anthropologists—including one of us), detailed assessments of the Sunghir site and the Sunghir human remains have been slow to permeate the broader anthropological community. Originally, in the 19th century and through much of the 20th century, the focus was on the populational affinities of human remains that emerged from the Upper Paleolithic of Eurasia.

Sunghir 1, 2, and 3 retain most of their maxillary and mandibular teeth, although those of Sunghir 1 are heavily worn and those of Sunghir 2 and especially Sunghir 3 were developing at the times of their deaths. As a result, the two immature individuals provide extensive data on their dental crown discrete morphology and crown metrics, but there are limited data on the third molars of Sunghir 2 and on the premolars and second molars of Sunghir 3 (and none on her third molars beyond their calcification stage; see chapter 6). In addition, although they retain none of their teeth, Sunghir 5 and especially 6 preserve alveolar bone, and they thereby provide limited dentoalveolar data. The Sunghir dentitions and alveoli thus have the potential to provide paleobiological data on their crown configurations, crown dimensions, some root lengths and configurations, in addition to wear patterns. The condition and salient aspects of each are provided first, followed by comparisons of their dimensions and shapes in a Late Pleistocene context. As noted in chapter 4, Sunghir 1 retains 31 of his original 32 teeth, and the one missing tooth, the left I2, was probably lost shortly before death. All of the teeth are heavily worn, thereby limiting morphological and morphometric observations principally to the M3s. But the other teeth provide considerable information regarding their wear patterns. The right I1 consists of worn dentin with a partial thin enamel ring around the labial margin of the crown. The dentin is occlusally flat to convex, the convexity produced mostly by a rounding of the lingual edge of the crown. There is a small area of secondary dentin exposed in the middle of the occlusal dentin. Note that the protruding nature of the tooth is a postmortem artifact, and it probably was originally at the same level as the left I1. There is no unusual wear in the mandibular incisors to match its procumbent state. The left I1 has similar wear, except that it retains more of the thin enamel ring around the lingual side and hence lacks the lingual rounding evident on the right one.

The three partial skeletons from Sunghir retain substantial portions of their shoulder and arm remains, from the proximal clavicle to the distal radius and ulna. The scapulae, as with most of those from the Pleistocene, retain principally the spine, the glenoid area, the coracoid process, and the axillary border. The left forearm of Sunghir 2 is absent (as is his left hand), and the left humerus consists of a diaphyseal section without the metaphyses and a partial proximal epiphysis. It is nonetheless possible to assess both overall upper limb proportions (chapter 11) and a number of aspects that relate to upper limb asymmetry, clavicle and scapular morphology, glenohumeral proportions, diaphyseal robustness, cubital articulations, and reflections of pronation-supination hypertrophy for all three of them. Although humans are considered to be bilaterally symmetrical in their limbs, there are small degrees of asymmetry in most limb bones. These asymmetries are frequently exaggerated in the human upper limb, given our handedness and the subsequent preference for use of the dominant arm in more mechanically demanding activities (Raymond and Pontier 2004). In general, the level of asymmetry in the dimensions of epiphyses, and especially of articulations, is modest. However, substantial asymmetry in measures of upper limb diaphyses (particularly of the humerus) have been documented in samples of recent humans (e.g., Ruff and Jones 1981; Fresia et al. 1990; Trinkaus et al. 1994; Roy et al. 1994; Churchill 1994; Steele and Mays 1995; Sakaue 1997; Mays 2002; Auerbach and Ruff 2006; Cowgill 2008; Auerbach and Raxter 2008), as well as in a number of Late Pleistocene humans (e.g., Trinkaus et al. 1994; Churchill and Formicola 1997; Cowgill 2008; Shang and Trinkaus 2010; Cowgill et al. 2012b; Mednikova 2012; Volpato et al. 2012). Moreover, as is indicated by labial anterior dental striations and one individual’s forearm bones, such handedness extends back through the genus Homo (Weaver et al. 2001; Frayer et al. 2012).

In this latest volume in the Human Evolution Series, Erik Trinkaus and his co-authors synthesize the research and findings concerning the human remains found at the Sunghir archaeological site. It has long been apparent to those in the field of paleoanthropology that the human fossil remains from the site of Sunghir are an important part of the human paleoanthropological record, and that these fossil remains have the potential to provide substantial data and inferences concerning human biology and behavior, both during the earlier Upper Paleolithic and concerning the early phases of human occupation of high latitude continental Eurasia. But despite many separate investigations and published studies on the site and its findings, a single and definitive volume does not yet exist on the subject. This book combines the expertise of four paleoanthropologists to provide a comprehensive description and paleobiological analysis of the Sunghir human remains. Since 1990, Trinkaus et al. have had access to the Sunghir site and its findings, and the authors have published frequently on the topic. The book places these human fossil remains in context with other Late Pleistocene humans, utilizing numerous comparative charts, graphs, and figures. As such, the book is highly illustrated, in color. Trinkaus and his co-authors outline the many advances in paleoanthropology that these remains have helped to bring about, examining the Sunghir site from all angles.

In most presentations of associated human fossil remains, the cranium and the mandible are discussed separately, as though they represent separate entities of human anatomy. However, in a paleobiological assessment of the Sunghir human remains, especially for the associated skeletons of Sunghir 1 to 3, it is more relevant to consider them in terms of the two primary functional units of the head, the neurocranium and the facial skeleton. The former includes skeletal elements directly relating to the brain, the special senses contained within the temporal bone, the mandibular articulation, and the muscular attachments on the external portions of the posterior and lateral cranium. The first two aspects are principally neurological, and they can be accessed only to a limited extent given the availability of radiographs of the Sunghir crania but not CT scans. The last two aspects relate to features that would best be considered in the context of the cervical region (the nuchal muscle attachment area) and mastication (the temporomandibular joint and the cranial attachments for temporalis and deep masseter). However, since the nuchal region and the temporomandibular joint are intimately related to more strictly neurocranial aspects of the cranium, they are discussed here, but then the latter is referred to with respect to the facial skeleton. In addition, individual bones, and especially the frontal, ethmoid, and sphenoid bones, form an interface between the neurocranial cavity and the facial skeleton. Their various portions, as they relate to one or the other of these anatomical spheres, are discussed separately. As detailed in chapter 4, there are four largely complete neurocrania from Sunghir. The Sunghir 1 to 3 neurocrania are largely present, but they have sustained variable degrees of in situ distortion and restoration. The Sunghir 5 one was extensively reassembled with generous applications of wax, but most of it appears to be present and in its correct positions. The Sunghir 1 neurocranium is largely complete, with only minor restoration of missing portions.