Anthropology  

Bagashev A.N., Slepchenko S.M., Alekseeva E.A., Sleptsova A.V.

A CRANIOLOGICAL FINDING FROM A SHRINE AT BOLSHOY LOG FORTIFIED SETTLEMENT OF THE KULAY CULTURE IN OMSK

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.

Key words: craniology, dental anthropology, facial reconstruction, trepanation, Kulay cultural-and-historical community, Bolshoy Log hillfort, Ust-Poluy, Kulayskaya Gora, West Siberia, the Early Iron Age.

 KhudaverdyanA.Yu., Gasparyan B.Z., Pinhasi R., Kanayan A.S., Hovanesyan N.А.

A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL MATERIALS OF THE LATE ENEOLITHIC FROM THE ARENI 1 CAVE

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.

Key words: Armenia, Areni 1, the Late Eneolithic, craniology, odontology, disease pathology, ritual, unintentional deformation