Moscow University
Anthropology
Bulletin
Anthropology
Bulletin
1) Department of Cultural Studies, Faculty of History, Yerevan State University, Alek Manukyan St. 1, Yerevan, 0025, Armenia; 2) Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, Charents St. 15, Yerevan, 0025, Armenia; 3) Lomonosov Moscow State University, Anuchin Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology, Mokhovaya st., 11, Moscow, 125009, Russia
Mkrtchyan Ruzan A., PhD., ORCID ID 0000-0003-2809-5972; ruzantrop55@mail.ru; Simonyan Hasmik G., ORCID ID 0000-0001-7763-339X; hassimonyan89@gmail.com; Vorontsova Elena L., PhD., ORCID ID 0000-0002-7817-7274; e.l.vorontsova@mail.ru
Introduction. An attempt to divide, according to the territorial origin, a single data array made up of the sizes of the skulls of the Iron Age series using multidimensional statistics has become the goal of this work. Materials and methods. Individual data on male skulls from the territory of the South Caucasus (Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan) and the Steppe region of Eastern Europe (Srubnaya culture of the South Russian steppes, Moldavia and the Lower Don, the Saka of Turkmenistan) were used in the work. Materials from Armenia were measured by the author, data on other series were obtained from literary sources. The sample size was 187 individuals. Statistical data processing was carried out by the method of discriminant canonical analysis based on a common covariance matrix. The results of the analysis are presented graphically. Results and discussion. In the coordinate field of the first and second canonical variables, the skulls were distributed so that the polarization of the two worlds was revealed. The skulls of the Srubnaya culture and Saka occupy mainly the area of positive values of the first canonical variable, and the materials of the Iron age from Transcaucasia are shifted to the area of negative values. Within these two aggregates, the skulls are grouped according to the territorial principle. Conclusion. The first canonical variable separates the materials of the Iron Age from Transcaucasia and the materials of the log culture and Saka. The series from Transcaucasia are characterized by a combination of a low skull arch and a high face. The skulls of the Srubnaya culture and Saka have a high arch and a low face. The second canonical variable can be considered a factor of broad-face and narrow-face. It distinguishes between the broad-faced groups of Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan and the relatively narrow-faced ones from Moldova and the Lower Don.
paleoanthropology; craniology; Srubnaya culture; the iron age
DOI: 10.32521/2074-8132.2022.3.135-143
Цит.: Mkrtchan R.A., Simonyan H.G., Vorontsova E.L. The Caucasus and the Steppe region: comparative craniological study // Moscow University Anthropology Bulletin (Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Seria XXIII. Antropologia), 2022; 3/2022; с. 135-143 (Published: September 15, 2022)
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