Pezhemsky Denis Valer’evich

Introduction. In February 2020, the third season of the Russian-Indian Anthropological expedition was conducted in Maharashtra. The field work was coordinated by Paleoethnology Research Center (Russia) and Department of Anthropology of Savitribai Phule Pune University (India). The goal was to examine Korku people, who are members of the Mundo-speaking branch of the Austroasiatic family.

Data and methods. A total of 293 people were examined from three different Amravati district locations. The sociological questionnaire indicated that 285 individuals were members of the Korku, of which 196 individuals were children and teenagers (95 male, 101 female) and 89 individuals were older than 17 years (58 male, 31 female). Following the traditions of the Russian anthropological school, the study of Korku was conducted using as many morphological techniques as possible, including the collection of data on somatometry, cephalometry, cephaloscopy, dental anthropology, dermatoglyphics, and anthropological photo. All data was collected according to the law protecting personal data and the principles of bioethics.

Results and discussion. Korku people tend to have dark pigmentation of the eyes, hair and skin, and soft, wavy hair. Males are orthognathic in the vertical profile of the face, females are mesognathic. Horizontal profiling in both sexes is characterized by average values. The lateral profile of the nasal bridge is flattened, the eye gap is of medium width and has horizontal orientation, while epicanthus is rare. According to the head index, males are mesocephalic with a tendency to subbrachycephaly, the proportions of the face and nose are characterized by average values. Women are also mesocephalic, relatively leptorineic. According to somatometric indicators, males have an average body length (164.4 cm). According to the proportions of the body, males and females are brachymorphic. The body length and chest circumference of children increases smoothly with age. The same growth curve is typical for body weight with a slight jump in the transition from 10–11 y.o. to 12–14 y.o. Composite portraits of Korku males and females were compiled in three standard norms. Dermatoglyphics and dental anthropology data are still being analyzed.

Conclusion. The Russian-Indian Anthropological Expedition examined the Korku people using an integrated anthropological approach during the 2020 field season. The Korku's somatometric, cephalometric, and cephaloscopic characteristics were acquired and presented for the first time. © 2024. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license

Introduction. Сomparative data from modern crematoria or experimental cremations of animal carcasses are often used to reconstruct the process of ancient cremations, although this data is not relevant. The goals of this study are to measure the duration of complete body burning; to analyze correlation between the body length and constitution and the body burning duration: to identify general patterns of body destruction process during cremation on a pyre.

Materials and methods. The materials (166 observations of cremations: 96 male, 56 female, 14 of unknown gender) were obtained during the Russian-Indian anthropological expedition of the Paleoethnology Research Center and the State Biology Museum in 2018, 2019 and 2022. The duration of complete incineration of soft tissues was recorded, as well as the body size and the constitution, using three-point assessment scales. In addition, the composition and condition of the cremated bone remains were described. To analyze the differences between samples of individuals with different body sizes and constitution, bivariate graphs and statistical criteria for assessing the differences were used.

Results and discussion. The average time of human body burning during cremation on a pyre was determined. A positive correlation between the duration of cremation and the body size and mesomorphy was found, and a negative correlation between the duration of cremation and ecto- and endomorphy was found. This pattern can be explained by the fact that significant volumes of soft tissues (especially poorly burning muscle tissue) require more time to burn; the predominance of adipose tissue contributes to faster body combustion. The proximal epiphyses of the tibia, distal epiphyses of the femur and vertebral bodies, as well as fragments of the integumentary bones of the skull and diaphyses of the femur, tibia and fibula are best preserved during cremation. The influence of the pyre design and the cremator's activity on the nature of body destruction was noted.

Conclusion. The hypothetical assumption of a positive correlation between body size and the time of its combustion was confirmed empirically. Numerous data on the time required for the complete destruction of soft tissue during cremation on a pyre have been introduced into scholarly discourse. © 2025. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license