Moscow University
Anthropology
Bulletin
Anthropology
Bulletin
1) Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow; 2) Saint-Petersburg State University, Saint-Petersburg
Khaldeeva N.I., e-mail: otdantrop@yandex.ru; Belyaeva V.I., e-mail: vibel@list.ru; Zubov A.A., e-mail: physatnrop@iea.ras.ru; Kharlamova N.V., e-mail: natasha_kharlamova@iea.ras.ru
A human tooth was found during archaeological excavations carried out by the group of archaeologist from Saint-Petersburg at the Upper-Paleolithic site Pushkari I (Novgorod-Severski region, Chernigov district of the Ukraine) in 2010. The finding was identified as the upper left premolar (P2). V.I. Belyaeva, an archaeologist from the State St. Petersburg University, brought the finding to the Department of Physical Anthropology of the IEA RAS for the further analysis. This is the second tooth from the territory of the given site. The first one was found in the 1938 and was studied by Professor M.A. Gremyatsky. The geological period of the site belongs to the so-called Wurm-maximum, that is in accordance with the absolute dates within the range 19010±220 and 21000±400 years B.P. The present study is dedicated to the dental morphology variations in the period of “middle Pleistocene-late Pleistocene” with the special accent on the interrelation of the specimens under the question within the range of Upper Paleolithic forms. The problem of the interrelation between the archaic and evolutionary «progressive» features in the morphological structure of those teeth was considered. For comparison, data on modern human groups have been brought in. The descriptive and metric analysis of P2 and M2 were carried out according to the standard odontological program. Revision of data on M2 was undertaken in order to take it into scientific usage according to the modern standards for authentic morphologic diagnosis and to guarantee the complete information especially needed in the case of single fossil finds. Moreover, 2011 is a year, which coincides with the 70th anniversary of the publication of M. Gremyatsky’s article in 1941. The odontometric characteristics of the both teeth were compared with the parameters of the analogous teeth in other findings using the bivariant graphs. In the metric analysis the data on 25 specimens were considered. The investigation showed that M2 is characterized by the mosaic traits, some Neanderthals features, traits of reduction and typical features of the groups of modern populations, as well as the markers of Europeoid anthropological specification. The morphological variations of P2 are typical for both fossil and modern human populations. According to the results of the graph odontometric analysis, both teeth (M2 and P2) occupy a middle position in the field of the distribution of the Upper Paleolithic findings, shifting to a certain extent towards the later specimens thus expressing typical variations within the specimen of the given period. Thus, when considering the morphological and metric correlations of the Upper Paleolithic findings, the role of Upper Paleolithic diversity could be stated as mosaic and dynamic layer/substratum, whose component variations determined in many aspects the tendencies of interspecies differentiation.
odontology, paleoanthropology, human evolution, Upper Paleolithic, Ukraine
Цит.: Khaldeeva N.I., Belyaeva V.I., Zubov A.A., Kharlamova N.V. Two Teeth from the excavations of the Upper Paleolithic Site Pushkari I. The Dental Analysis // Moscow University Anthropology Bulletin (Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Seria XXIII. Antropologia), 2012; 1/2012; с. 33-43
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