Moscow University Anthropology Bulletin

The population of the Golden Horde time of the Eastern Black Sea region according to osteometry data (based on the materials of the excavations of the Natukhaevskoye 5 burial ground)

Petrova K.A.

Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Dm.Ulyanova str., 19, Moscow, 117292, Russia

Petrova Kristina A., ORCID ID 0000-0003-3151-4269; kriss150294@mail.ru

Abstract

Introduction. Osteometric data of adult individuals of the anthropological series from the burial ground of the Golden Horde time "Natukhaevskoe 5" are presented for the first time in this work. Based on the standard measurements, patterns of the skeletal constitution of the buried are discussed. As part of this study, we tested the hypothesis about the difference in the morphological appearance of two samples, combined according to the type of funeral rite - stone boxes and burial grounds. Materials and methods. The anthropological collection consists of the remains of 124 adult individuals, including 67 males and 57 females. Measurements of the postcranial skeleton were carried out according to the program of R. Martin (in version by V.P. Alekseev) according to 55 features. The degree of homogeneity of the male and female samples was determined using an intragroup analysis with the method of principal components for 10 features. The Mann-Whitney test was used to assess the statistical significance of differences. Results. The male population was rather tall with a shortened robust humerus and an elongated forearm bones, the lower limbs were long and massive. Among the female group, there is also a tendency to lengthen the lower limbs, relative to the upper ones, mainly due to the lower leg. The conducted intragroup analysis did not reveal statistically significant differences between the two groups, united according to the type of funeral rite, neither among men nor among women. However, a large range of linear size variations was found among men buried in stone boxes. Compared to them, the sample from the ground pit is more homogeneous. A different picture is observed in the female sample, where higher morphological diversity can be traced among those buried in the pits. @ 2023. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license

Keywords

osteometry; Middle Ages; burial ground; stone boxes; Golden Horde

DOI: 10.32521/2074-8132.2023.4.103-116

Цит.: Petrova K.A. The population of the Golden Horde time of the Eastern Black Sea region according to osteometry data (based on the materials of the excavations of the Natukhaevskoye 5 burial ground) // Moscow University Anthropology Bulletin (Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Seria XXIII. Antropologia), 2023; 4/2023; с. 103-116 (Published: November 20 2023)

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