Moscow University
Anthropology
Bulletin

The anthropology of the Fayum OASIS I–IV centuries AD

Perevozchikov I.V. (1), Shpak L.Y. (2), Shimanovskaya A.S.

1) Lomonosov Moscow State University, Anuchin Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology, Mokhovaya st., 11, Moscow, 125009, Russia; 2) Lomonosov Moscow State University, Anuchin Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology, Mokhovaya st., 11, Moscow, 125009, Russia

Perevozchikov Ilya V., e-mail: perevozchikovev@mail.ru; Shpak Larisa Y., Ph.D., ORCID ID: 0000-0002-6936-9426, e-mail: larusparus@mail.ru;

Abstract

Fayum portraits at the moment are one of the oldest, extant, a series of realistic portraits, occurred in the same area, one technique and, historically, almost simultaneously (I–IV century BC).Many surviving portraits and sufficient fullness of historical information about the period of their creation are important prerequisites to consider them as a source of anthropological information on one of the regions of the Eastern Mediterranean. Statistical data processing carried out by standard methods of one-dimensional statistics using the Statistika 6 program and the method of creating a digital composite portrait proposed by M.N. Tikhomirov was also applied [Lock, 2011]. The anthropological description of the sample of individual data and composite portraits are very close. The growth of the beard: has an average intensity development. Colour of the beard and hair: mostly black and only 1/5 – dark brown. Form of hair in men and women: approximately half of the hair is narrow wavy, and the rest is wavy and, in a few cases, widely-wavy and curly. The growth of eyebrows: for most cases strong, average growth – 25%, weak almost never occurs. Eye colour: practically all dark, mixed and light shades are noted in individual cases. The fold of the upper eyelid: absent in about half the cases. The bridge of the nose: narrow and, probably, for the most part high. Profile of the nose: decidedly dominates straight. The wing of the nose: in the majority are poorly developed. The height of the upper lip: mostly low. Upper lip thickness: varies between low and medium, and the lower lip is medium thick in 59% and thick in14%. The average length of the nose: long and medium in approximately equal proportions, short nose is rare. The height of the forehead: low forehead height in 49% of cases, and median in 44%. The descriptions of individual portraits, average scores of different characters and the composite portraits bring us to the conclusion that the investigated sample is almost exactly matches one of the variants of the Mediterranean (or Indo-Mediterranean) anthropological type.

Keywords

anthropology, Egypt, Fayum portrait, composite portrait

Цит.: Perevozchikov I.V., Shpak L.Y., Shimanovskaya A.S. The anthropology of the Fayum OASIS I–IV centuries AD // Moscow University Anthropology Bulletin (Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Seria XXIII. Antropologia), 2012; 4/2012; с. 127-133

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