Moscow University
Anthropology
Bulletin
Anthropology
Bulletin
Lomonosov Moscow State University, Anuchin Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology, Mokhovaya st., 11, Moscow, 125009, Russia
Berezina Nataliya Yakovlevna, PhD, ORCID ID: 0000-0001-5704-9153; berezina.natalia@gmail.com; Buzhilova Aleksandra Petrovna, DSci, academician; ORCID ID: 0000-0001-6398-2177; :albu_pa@mail.ru.
Introduction. Exostosis of the external auditory canal (further EEAC) – the growth of the walls of the external auditory meatus, leading to its narrowing. EEAC occurs in response to irritation of the periosteum in the ear canal, most often in response to long-term and regular contact with water, which gives reason to register this pathology as an indicator of physical activity associated with the use of water resources in everyday life. Materials and methods. The material for this study was a craniological series from the site Vovnigi II from the collection of the Research Institute and the Museum of anthropology of Moscow State University, dating back to the Neolithic era. 25 skulls were examined. Age and sex determinations, as well as a morphological and paleopathological examination of skulls, were carried out according to standard anthropological methods. The degree of narrowing of the external auditory canal was assessed visually. To clarify the diagnosis, a study on a computer tomograph was conducted. Results. Of the 23 suitable for the study skulls, 10 recorded EEAC in varying degrees of development. In all cases, the signs of EEAC were observed in adult individuals: in men in eight cases out of 14, whereas in women only in two cases out of eight. A large number of carp teeth were found in the burials of the site Vovnigi II, and isotopic studies showed that the protein of freshwater fish contributed a large proportion to the diet of the group. Conclusion. The results may reflect the effects of the daily activities of the population leaving the Vovnigi II burial site: fishing or other activities related to the active use of water resources and dives into the water. It can be assumed that there is a difference between men’s and women’s daily activities, where water fishing was primarily a male responsibility. At the individual level, the EEAC cannot be considered a consequence of the active use of water resources due to the many reasons that may cause it. But at the population level at a high frequency of occurrence of ENSP, immersion in water is quite a likely scenario of the lifestyle of the studied group.
Neolithic, paleoanthropology, external auditory canal exostosis, indicators of physical activity
DOI: 10.32521/2074-8132.2020.1.108-114
Цит.: Berezina N.Ya, Buzhilova A.P. The lifestyle of Neolithic hunter-fishermen, and its reflection on the bones of the skull (on the materials from the site Vovnigi II) // Moscow University Anthropology Bulletin (Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Seria XXIII. Antropologia), 2020; 1/2020; с. 108-114
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