Shpak Larisa Yurievna

Introduction. The fine arts of archaic Greece and Etruria experienced a noticeable influence of the East. The transition from archaic to classical time influenced the forms of depicting the morphological features of a person in antique art. Comparative study of the anthropological features of the antique population of the Mediterranean on the greek painted pottery and etruscan murals of the archaic and classical times was the purpose of our study.

Materials and methods. The material was collected in the online-collections of ancient collections of museums. We used the method of a composite portrait in a digital version, the calculation of the frequency of features in our study. Studied features was – beard growth, hair color and nature of the hair.

Results and discussion. On the etruscan murals of the archaic period, the frequency of depicting straight nature of the hair in women is the highest (7,7 %) in all samples; for different groups of painted pottery, it does not exceed 7 %. The degree of beard growth according to vase painting and etruscan murals is characterized by a strong and very strong growth. A greater manifestation of hair pigmentation polymorphism according to painted pottery is noted in the images of the classical period. Dark hair predominates in all groups, grey-haired was depicted only in male characters. Hair depigmentation on painted pottery is observed in images of the classical and late classical periods and did not exceed 6 % in the total sample. Pigmentation on etruscan murals indicates a lightening of the hair in the group towards reddish-red shades, depigmentation does not exceed 8%. Features of the depiction of pigmentation in to vase painting and murals, despite the different technique and coloring, reveal common tendencies of variability characteristic of the Mediterranean groups. Composite portraits based on painted pottery reflect the historical transformation of the anthropo-aesthetic ideas of the greeks through the fine arts of the archaic and classical times.

Conclusion. Color in greek painted pottery performs not only a decorative function, but is also an artistic means of conveying morphological variability. Involvement of antique written sources of the description of population and the philosophy of color in antique culture can help in the anthropological reading of vase painting and further study of pigmentation polymorphism. © 2023. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license

Introduction. An assessment of the currently known data on intergroup variability of papillary patterns of fingers' middle phalanges suggests the possibility of using these characteristics to differentiate Eurasian populations.

Material and methods. The study conducted on the prints of fingers' middle phalanges of 1178 men from 12 ethno-territorial groups of Russia and Kyrgyzstan. These are mainly archival materials represented by impressions of the entire palmar surface of the hand. Therefore, we applied а classification that unites morphologically similar variants to eliminate possible errors in determining the types of skin patterns.

Results. Statistically significant differences revealed when comparing the proportions of dermatoglyphic features in Caucasian populations, on the one hand, and mixed Caucasian-Mongoloid or Mongoloid populations, on the other. The occurrence frequencies of straight and hook patterns increase, and the frequencies of distal arc and complex double patterns decrease in the presence of a Mongoloid (or Uralic) component.

The results of cluster analysis and multidimensional scaling confirmed the division of populations depending on the presence of a Mongoloid, including Ural, component in their racial composition. Within the main clusters, groups were differentiated according to anthropological similarity and territorial proximity.

The skin patterns’ complex of digital middle phalanges is very sensitive to the presence of a Mongoloid (or Uralic) component in Caucasian populations, as well as the main dermatoglyphic features of the hand. The differentiation of samples according to the patterns of the middle phalanges largely corresponds to the division based on classical racial and key dermatoglyphic characteristics. However, as a result of multidimensional scaling, the Volga-Kama populations were located further from the Caucasoid than both Mongoloid samples. Therefore, shares’ distribution of united dermatoglyphic signs in Mongoloid populations requires clarification using additional data.

Conclusion. The results of various statistical analyzes allow us to conclude that it is possible to use dermatoglyphic characteristics of digital middle phalanges to differentiate Caucasoid samples and groups with a Mongoloid (or Ural) component. The presence of the Mongoloid component in the groups is accompanied by a decrease in the complexity of the papillary patterns on the middle phalanges. © 2023. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license.

Introduction. Of the numerous ceramic production centers of ancient Greece, the Attica region is notable for its continuous development of vase painting styles. Compared to the black-figure and red-figure painting techniques, the polychrome painting of Attic vases on a white-ground may indicate polymorphism in the pigmentation of the ancient Greeks.

Materials and methods. The material was collected in digitized museum collections and thematic literature. The color and nature of the characters' hair were studied from vase painting and funerary painting. Anthroposcopic method and simple statistics were used. The significance of differences between groups was assessed using the chi-square test.

Results and discussion. In all samples of Attic vase painting, the wavy nature of the hair is predominant, and this frequency does not change significantly over time. The highest frequency of straight nature of the hair (13.3%) is observed in white-ground vase painting. In comparison with the characters in vase paintings, modern Greeks have predominantly straight, lightly wavy hair, especially in women, and then wavy hair. For all style groups of Attic vase painting, no gender differences in nature of the hair were identified. The depiction of hair color on white-ground vase paintings of the early classical and classical times is significantly different: in the earlier vase painting, black and dark brown predominate, and in the later ones, brown/light brown and red-brown. The minimum frequency of dark shades of the hair is noted in Hellenistic funerary painting; it shows, like the white-ground vase painting of the classics, a lighter-pigmented population. The hair color of the modern Greek population is predominantly dark. Based on the hypothesis that the artist depicts familiar forms as traditional ones and reflects the anthropological characteristics of his group, the polymorphism of pigmentation and nature of the hair of the ancient and modern Greek populations is different.

Conclusion. Groups of art sources that differ in chronology and style do not represent the hair pigmentation of the population of ancient Greece in the same way. To further study polymorphism of pigmentation of the ancient population, it is necessary to correct the methodology to correlate the actual colors used in vase/mural painting with the hair color classes of the traditional color scale, as well as the use of additional comparative materials.

© 2024. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license

Introduction. Etruscan-Italian fine art experienced a noticeable artistic influence from Greece. Iconographic types of the head and face were transmitted both through the import of finished Greek products and through the circulation of matrices and the artists themselves, which complicates the chronology and typology of monuments. P.J. Riis proposes to systematize the "evolution" of Etruscan terracotta styles by constructing a chronological series from the early archaic to the late classic [Riis, 1981]. The purpose of the work was to study the concept of P.J. Riis about iconography in Etruscan coroplastics and the creation of generalized morphological characteristics of local types (regional styles).

Materials and methods. Illustrated chronological tables from P.J. Riis and the method of composite portrait in digital version were used.

Results and discussion. P.J. Riis examined 352 types of images, their archaeological context geographically confined to Northern Etruria (Clusium), Central (Vulci, Volsinia), Southern (Caere, Veii, Falerii, Latium) and Etruscan Campania (Capua). The earliest production of Etruscan terracotta was concentrated in Campania, Southern and Northern Etruria, the first hellenized style of terracotta spread from Etruscan Capania into Southern Etruria. The composite portraits based on the combined samples of archaic art indicate the absence of significant sex differences. In the composite female portrait for all samples of the archaic period, a contribution of morphological elements of the types of Southern and Central Etruria is visually noted. The greatest contribution to the morphology of the face in the composite female portrait for all samples of the classical period was made by Central Etruria and Capua. The resulting composite portraits by region indicate the heterogeneity of facial iconography in the archaic and classical art of Central Italy and visualize the conclusions of P.J. Riis on the development of several local traditions of fine art style.

Conclusion. The classification of P.J. Riis is constructed in such a way that it assumes for its further completion with new archaeological data, so it can be considered as an attempt to create a “visual” history of the Etruscan portrait, at least part of it. © 2024. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license

Introduction. Greek sculpture and vase painting, despite the comprehensive study of specialists in many fields of science, can represent a source of information for historical and biological anthropology. The vase painting and sculpture of the ancient Greeks has been studied in the context of ethnic and biological continuity with the modern Greek population.

Materials and methods. A total of 1020 vases (2379 people) and 174 reliefs (300 people) were studied. Two characteristics were studied – the development of tertiary hair growth (beard growth) and the nature of the head hair of ancient and modern Greeks. The material was collected from online sources and relevant literature, and processed according to anthropological methods. The composite portrait according to F. Galton method in digital format has been used to visualize morphological variability.

Results and discussion. Modern Greeks (the middle total type of the population) are characterized by straight or lightly wavy head hair (middle score 1.41) and most often above middle or heavy beard growth (middle score 3.38). The proportion of straight and wavy hair in all vase painting samples is approximately the same, with wavy hair significantly predominant. The middle scores for hair nature and beard growth based on relief funeral images of ancient Greeks in our samples turned out to be significantly higher than for modern Greeks and amounted to: for nature of the hair – 2,62 points for classical time and 2,81 points for late classical and hellenistic times, for beard growth – 4,38 points and 4,30 points, respectively.

Conclusion. Despite the change in artistic forms of conveying morphological features during the transition from archaic to classical times, in Greek vase painting and sculpture the representation of the heavy beard growth and the wavy nature of head hair was preserved, which, according to the authors, may be a real reflection of the typical morphological characteristics of the group. © 2024. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license

Introduction. The article is devoted to a review of the results of anthropological research of European populations based on visual art, which is conducted in the laboratory of racial studies of the Anuchin Institute and Museum of Anthropology of Moscow State University.

Results and discussion. The study of morphological variability of population based on the visual arts is a relatively new interdisciplinary area of physical anthropology. Research is being carried out in two directions: 1) European portraiture of the 15th-19th centuries and Russian portraiture of the 18th - 19th centuries, 2) Mediterranean ancient sculpture and painting. Descriptions of materials and methodology are detailed in the main articles of the team cited in the bibliography. The image series were studied from a population approach to the analysis of variability. About one and a half thousand Western European and Russian portraits were studied, anthropological characteristics and estimates of homogeneity of the population were obtained by descriptive method and the composite portrait method. An anthropological description of the ancient population of the Mediterranean was obtained from samples: Fayum pictorial portraits, Roman sculptural portraits, Etruscan pictorial and sculptural portraits, Greek sculptural and pictorial portraits.

Conclusion. The iconography of the physical features of the populations in various monuments of material culture and art allows us to obtain anthropological information about the variability of ancient and modern populations. The research potential of visual art resources for anthropology is evident and varied, but has not yet been sufficiently studied in terms of estimating and verifying of anthropological information that can become research applications for future researchers. © 2024. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license