Moscow University
Anthropology
Bulletin
Anthropology
Bulletin
1) Biological Sciences Dep., Khazar University; Baku, Meskheti str., 41, Baku, AZ1096, Azerbaijan; 2) «Other worlds studio», Nagornaya st., 36, Moscow, 117186, Russia; 3) Azerbaijan DNA Project, FTDNALab., 1445 N Loop W Fwy, Ste 820, Houston, TX 77008, USA
Ibrahimov Anar Sh.; Ph.D.; ORCID ID: 0000-0001-6426-3246; anar.ibrahimov@khazar.org; Yevseyev Roman V.; ORCID ID: 0000-0001-8826-3961; hyaenodon2@gmail.com; Aliev Akper A.; ORCID ID: 0000-0002-3729-815X; AzerbaijanDNAProject@gmail.com
Introduction. Until now, no work has been carried out to reconstruct the external appearance of the ancient population of Transcaucasia. In order to fill this gap, this study of the skull of a man from an early medieval catacomb burial in the Shamakhi region of Azerbaijan was undertaken. Craniometric and odontometric measurements determined the sex, racial type, age at death, revealed pathologies of the dentition and various traumatic injuries. The purpose of the work was to obtain primary information about the appearance of people who lived in the first centuries of our era on the territory of Azerbaijan and thereby attract scientific attention to this problem. Materials and methods. The skull, found in 1949 by the expedition of R.M. Kasimova with the participation of G.F. Debets, underwent an anthropological study according to classical programs to determine age, gender and race. Lifetime appearance restoration in the form of a graphic portrait in isometric projection was carried out according to the method of M.M. Gerasimov and E.V. Veselovskaya using Adobe Photoshop CC 2020 graphics editor. Results. A table of individual measurements of the skull is presented, lifetime dimensions of the head are calculated, and a verbal description of the appearance is given. In racial terms, the subject can be attributed to the Caspian subtype of the Indo-Mediterranean race, the most characteristic modern representatives of which are Azerbaijanis, which also illustrates the reconstructed graphic appearance. Discussion. The metric data of the skull were compared with similar characteristics of the closest male samples, which included a total of over 1300 skulls from the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Southwestern Europe. Based on the results of applying the corresponding discriminant analysis equations, it was found that the studied skull in the racial format belongs to the Caspian anthropological type. Conclusion. As a result of the reconstruction of the appearance of the skull of a man from the early medieval burial ground in the Shamakhi region of Azerbaijan, paleoanthropological material unique for the Transcaucasian region was obtained for the first time. Previous archaeogenetic studies confirmed its belonging to the local population of Transcaucasia.
craniology; reconstruction of appearance; Azerbaijanis; Shemakha burial ground; Caspian type; catacomb burial
DOI: 10.32521/2074-8132.2023.1.129-137
Цит.: Ibrahimov A.S., Yevseyev R.V., Aliev A.A. Forensic facial reconstruction of a man from the Shamakhigrave field of the early medieval period // Moscow University Anthropology Bulletin (Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Seria XXIII. Antropologia), 2023; 1/2023; с. 129-137 (Published: February 28, 2023)
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