Leybova N.A., Chirkova A.Kh.

Results of the analysis of intra-observer and inter-observer discrepancies in the assessment of some non-metric dental traits

For the first time in Russian odontology, this paper presents the results of the analysis of intra-observer and inter-observer discrepancies in the determination of non-metric dental traits. The basis for the work was the materials collected in 2022 in the western regions of the Republic of Tuva during the Tuva ethnographic and anthropological expedition of TuvSU-CPI under the direction of E.V. Ayizhy (Candidate of Historical Sciences, TuvSU). The aim of the expedition was comprehensive biological and anthropological investigation of the local population. The programme included collecting the data on somatometry, cephalometry, cephaloscopy, odontology, dermatoglyphics, panoptic anthropological portrait photography, and social survey. Due to the fact that two experts in odontology worked in the expedition, it was possible to conduct a comparative analysis of their independent determinations. An important factor appeared to be that in the Tuva expedition, for the first time in the practice of mass population-anthropological investigations, an intraoral 3D scanner was employed, which provided a rare opportunity to test the field determinations made by the researcher. This paper is concerned with the results of intra- and inter-observer correlations in the determination of non-metric dental traits by different recording techniques. Following the programme adopted in Russian odontology, during the expedition, there were 504 people examined and 331 wax impressions of teeth obtained. The complete programme of the odontological examination included visual inspection and description of the traits with the aid of a dental mirror. Using the intraoral 3D scanner Medit I500, in total 202 scans were obtained. The analysis consisted of several levels of intra- and inter-observer correlations and included three stages of connexive experiments aimed at the assessment of the nonmetric dental traits observed in the expedition and on the 3D models. The study is based upon the use of the empirical and statistical methods. At all stages of the analysis, there were no intra- and inter-observer discrepancies recorded in the assessment of the diastema, crowding, and reduction of lateral incisors. The most difficult feature for recording appeared to be the prominence of the shovelling of upper incisors. In its assessment, statistically significant differences were revealed during the intraobserver correlations. The results of the observation of the odontological traits obtained by different recording techniques, showed some systematic deviations at the individual researcher level, manifested in an overestimation of frequencies of the shovelling when determining by scans and underestimation of frequencies of the shovelling determined with the aid of the dental mirror.

Keywords: biological anthropology, anthropological variability, dental anthropology, connection, intra-observes comparisons, inter-observes comparisons.

Kishkurno M.S., Sleptsova A.V.

Craniological and dental non-metric data on the problem of the interaction between the representatives of the Sargatka and Bolsherechenskaya Cultures of the forest-steppe of the south Western Siberia

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.

Keywords: south of Western Siberia, Bolsherechenskaya Culture, Sargatka Culture, craniology, Dental nonmetric, integration.

Slepchenko S.М., Filimonova M.O.

Results of the archaeoparasitological analysis of soil samples from the necropolis of the 2nd c. AD settlement of Pantikapaion

In the paper, the results of an archaeoparasitological analysis of a population group from the ancient Greek city of Pantikapaion, located in the historical centre of the modern city of Kerch (Republic of Crimea), are presented. The aim of the study is to obtain information about the parasitic diseases, state of health, nutrition, and hygiene in a part of the population of the city. The materials for the study were soil samples obtained during the treatment of the human sacra from 31 burials of the necropolis, dated to the 2nd century AD. In the result of the conducted investigation, the parasitic spectrum of the studied population group was determined. Eggs of three species of helminths were found. The discovery of eggs of broad tapeworm (Dibothriocephalus latum) in the soil samples indicates the presence in the diet of the studied population group freshwater fish that were not sufficiently thermally treated. The archaeoparasitological data from archaeological sites of a chronologically close period in the territory of the Northern Black Sea region suggests that diphyllobothriasis was a decease far from being rare in this area. The presence of eggs of human roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides) and whipworm (Trichuris trichiura) in the samples likely indicates the challenging sanitary-hygienic environment in the city and insufficient hygienic skills in the studied group. The analysis of the archaeoparasitological data within the historical context and utilisation of the archaeopathological material from the archaeological sites in the Northern Black Sea region permitted to identify the factors that had an influence on the wide spread of geohelminths. The humid and warm climate facilitated maturation of geohelminth eggs in the soil, while the human activities concerned with the irrigation of the territory, building public water collection points, and waste buildup in the streets, in combination with the high population density, were causing the rise of the infectious hazard. The relatively high incidence rates of Trichuris trichiura and Ascaris lumbricoides may indicate a high prevalence of certain bacterial intestinal infections transmitted by the identical route. The occurrence of geohelminths, alongside the archaeological data, can indicate a low social status of the studied population group.

Keywords: аrchaeoparasitology, intestinal parasites, Northern Black Sea Region, Panticapaeum, bioarchaeological reconstruction, Dibothriocephalus latum, Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura.