Khodyreva Daria Sergeevna

Introduction. The invasion of the Huns in Europe, which became the cause of the Great Migration of peoples, could not but leave a significant archaeological trace. However, only a small number of Hun burials are currently known, most of which were discovered accidentally in the middle of the 20th century, which makes each newly discovered burial unique, and their comprehensive study and publication of individual data is important for subsequent research.

Materials and methods. During the excavations in 2021–2022, two Hun burials were discovered in the Ust-Alma necropolis. One of them belonged to a young man, the second to an elderly woman. The good preservation of both skeletons, in particular their skulls, allowed for a complete craniological examination. In addition, a children's Hun skull from the Belyaus settlement was examined, which is in permanent storage at the D. N. Anuchin Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology.

Results. As a result of the work carried out, it was found that both individuals from Ust-Alma have the same type of skull deformation – high annular (according to the classification of E.V. Zhirov). However, the deformation methods were probably different. The deformation of the skull of a child from Belyaus is defined as occipital with right-sided asymmetry of the occiput. Craniophenetic data do not indicate the relationship of individuals buried in the Ust-Alminsky burial ground. Craniometric data indicate a mixed origin of the crimean Huns.

Conclusion. Due to the small number of Hun burials from Ust-Alma, as well as individual data on Hun skulls in the scientific literature, it is difficult to conduct a statistical analysis based on craniological data. Within the typological approach, for a number of features, the male skull was characterized as Caucasoid, and the female as Mongoloid. Thus, new craniological data on rare Hunnic skulls introduced into scientific circulation will increase the comparative base for further research. © 2023. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license

Introduction. The study focuses on the dental morphology analysis of three individuals from Hunnic-period burials in Crimea (Ust-Alma and Belyaus necropolises). This study builds upon previous publication of the archaeological context and craniological analysis of these individuals (Khodyreva, Shkribliak, 2023).

Materials and methods. The research material consisted of two well-preserved skeletons (a male 20–25 years old and a female over 55 years old) from Hunnic-period burials at the Ust-Alma settlement necropolis, as well as the skull of a child aged 10–11 years from an ancient crypt at the Belyaus settlement. For all skulls, an analysis of dental and maxillofacial pathologies and non-metric dental traits was conducted. The individuals from Ust-Alma were also examined for the presence of traumas, pathologies, and developmental anomalies of the skeletal bones.

Results. The results of the dental analysis revealed the presence, in varying combinations, of traits associated with the Eastern dental complex (e.g., shoveling, hypocone expression, deflective wrinkle) and those characteristic of Western complexes (e.g., Carabelli's cusp). This indicates a mixed ancestry of the studied individuals. The paleopathological analysis of the male's postcranial skeleton revealed a series of entheseal changes, which may testify to high physical activity associated with horse riding and archery, consistent with historical data on the Huns.

Conclusion. The obtained results are in agreement with craniological data and confirm the anthropological heterogeneity of the Hunnic-period population in Crimea. The publication of individual dental morphological data from these rare finds is considered crucial for building a comparative database. This will enable a more comprehensive statistical analysis in the future, upon the discovery of new Hunnic burials, and will help clarify the micro-evolutionary processes associated with Hunnic migrations and their interaction with local populations.

Acknowledgements. The study was conducted under the state assignment of Lomonosov Moscow State University