Moscow University
Anthropology
Bulletin
Anthropology
Bulletin
1) Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of Biology, Department of Anthropology, Leninskie Gory, 1(12), Moscow, 119234, Russia; 2) Research Center of Medical Genetics, Moskvorechye St, 1, Moscow, 115522, Russia; 3) LLC Vladimir regional center of archeology at VLSU, Mira street, 9, 101, Vladimir, 600014, Russia
Goncharova Natalia N., PhD; ORCID ID: 0000-0001-8504-1175; e-mail: 1455008@gmail.com; Kabaev Danil A.; e-mail: d.kabaev@mail.ru.
Introduction. The study of the population formation processes of the city of Vladimir, the capital of the Vladimir-Suzdal Principality, is an important task for archaeologists, historians, linguists and anthropologists. However, materials on the anthropology of the ancient Russian population of this city began appearing relatively recently. The purpose of this work is to publish and analyze data on the pre-Mongolian population of ancient Vladimir. Materials and methods. The work is based on craniological data obtained during the study of a sample from a 13th-century sanitary burial in the historical center of Vladimir. 43 adults of both sexes were studied. Demographic and craniological indicators, as well as skull injuries were analyzed to understand the circumstances of the appearance of a mass grave. Results. The studied complex is a one-time burial of a large number of individuals in the household utility basement of a ground building. The archaeological context of the sanitary burial allows us to confidently date it to the first half of the 13th century. It has been established that 58% of individuals have injuries to the skull bones, which either caused death or were inflicted shortly before death. A comparative statistical analysis involving craniological data from 24 synchronous samples revealed a great similarity of the male studied group with the Balts and Slavs of the Upper Dnieper region. At the same time, a strong difference from rural population of neighboring territories was found. Conclusions. The location and characteristics of the burial, as well as fatal injuries, indicate that the citizens died as a result of a military conflict. The traumatic injuries are similar in nature to those found during the study of other mass graves in ancient Russian cities. Comparative analyzes of craniological features make it possible to link the origin of this population group with the territory of the Upper Dnieper region, through which two waves of migration of Slavic settlers passed during first millennium AD. No influence of migrants from the territory of the Novgorod lands was found. Influence of the local Finnish component on the studied group is also absent.
paleoanthropology; craniology; urban population; mass burial; ancient Russian city
DOI: 10.32521/2074-8132.2022.2.115-129
Цит.: Goncharova N.N., Kabaev D.A. Analysis of anthropological material from the sanitary burial of the city of Vladimir of the XIII century // Moscow University Anthropology Bulletin (Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Seria XXIII. Antropologia), 2022; 2/2022; с. 115-129 (Published: July 14, 2022)
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