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5. PALEODEMOGRAPHY OF THE 10TH–13TH-CENTURY POPULATIONS IN THE TISZÁNTÚL (HUNGARY)

PALEODEMOGRAPHY OF THE 10TH–13TH-CENTURY POPULATIONS IN THE TISZÁNTÚL (HUNGARY)

János István (1), Szathmáry László (2)

1) Institute of Environmental Science, College of Nyíregyháza, Nyíregyháza, Hungary; 2) Department of Evolutionary Zoology and Human Biology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary

János István, e-mail: janosi2@zeus.nyf.hu.

Abstract

Result of craniological studies suggests that the structure of populations living in the Great Hungarian Plain (Hungary) might have changed considerably between the Age of the Hungarian Conquest (10th century) and the Arpadian Age (11th–13th century). This conclusion follows from the analysis of skeletons from cemeteries dating both to the Age of the Hungarian Conquest and to the Arpadian Age. Given the above result, the basic aim of this study was to perform comparative paleodemographic analysis of representative 10th and 11th–13th-century skeletal populations excavated from cemeteries in the Tiszántúl region, the eastern part of the Great Hungarian Plain. The samples were separated into two groups according to archaeological periods (the Age of the Hungarian Conquest and the Arpadian Age). It was found that the 10th-century populations showed greater variation in mortality parameters. By contrast, the Arpadian Age populations, especially those dating to the 11th century showed a much more homogeneous demographic profile. Among the 11th-century populations, much lesser variation could be detected than among the 10th-century samples. It is possible that 10th-century populations composed of various ethnic groups of different origin settled in the Carpathian basin according to their former environment. This might have caused territorial isolation and was followed by anatomical and demographic distinctions. However, in the 11th century, differences between groups became much smaller, possibly due to the political activities of King Saint Stephen, which resulted in a more homogeneous population.

Keywords

paleodemography, skeletal populations, Great Hungarian Plain, Tiszántúl region, age of Hungarian Conquest, Arpadian Age

Цит.: János István, Szathmáry László PALEODEMOGRAPHY OF THE 10TH–13TH-CENTURY POPULATIONS IN THE TISZÁNTÚL (HUNGARY) // Moscow University Anthropology Bulletin (Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Seria XXIII. Antropologia), 2014; 3/2014; с. 70-71