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5. Analysis of the indicators of the bilateral asymmetry of long bones of the extremities in the Early Medieval population of North Ossetia (based on data from Mamisondon cemetery)

Analysis of the indicators of the bilateral asymmetry of long bones of the extremities in the Early Medieval population of North Ossetia (based on data from Mamisondon cemetery)

Berezina N.Ya.

Lomonosov Moscow State University, Institute and Museum of Anthropology, Moscow

Abstract

This article describes morphological features of the postcranial skeleton of an Early Medieval group from the territory of North Ossetia. 83 individuals of both sexes were studied using classical methods of osteometry. The coefficient of asymmetry in sizes on the right and left sides of the body was calculated. Trends in the severity and direction of the asymmetry is proven by statistical methods. Analysis of the data showed that the studied group possesses some features: there are group of sizes of the long bones of the extremities which shows a number of significantly asymmetric directional characteristics, and group of sizes, which are significantly asymmetric, but without obvious direction, i.e. having a fluctuating asymmetry. Comparison of directional asymmetry between men and women in intra-group analysis identified the least number of features with directional asymmetry in the female part of the series. The recorded changes reflect the functional and morphological nature of the asymmetry of the skeleton.

Keywords

physical anthropology, adaptation, osteometry, asymmetry of morphological features of the postcranial skeleton, North Caucasus, Middle Ages

Цит.: Berezina N.Ya. Analysis of the indicators of the bilateral asymmetry of long bones of the extremities in the Early Medieval population of North Ossetia (based on data from Mamisondon cemetery) // Moscow University Anthropology Bulletin (Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Seria XXIII. Antropologia), 2017; 3/2017; с. 104-113