Berezina Natalia Yakovlevna

Introduction. Most of the burial mounds of the Caucasian Mineral Waters region combine the burials of representatives of different archaeological cultures separated by thousands of years. Therefore, the rate of accumulation of monocultural synchronous materials in collections for some epochs is quite low, and slows down even more due to the unequal preservation of bone remains. The introduction of new information into scientific circulation based on the results of recent archaeological work will allow faster accumulation of materials and data exchange between researchers working on the same issue. The purpose of this work is to publish morphological features of the skeleton of individuals belonging to the Sarmatian culture of the Pre-Caucasus.

Materials and methods. The skeletons of three individuals, from three burials of one mound, dating from the III-I centuries BC and belonging to the nomads of the early Sarmatian time were investigated. The study used both traditional methods of anthropology and bioarchaeological approaches. Sex and age studies were carried out on all preserved parts of the skeleton according to standard anthropological methods. A program for fixing markers of stress and pathological conditions was applied to all the studied individuals.

Results. Skeletal remains of two young women and a mature man were studied. Both women had anomalies in the development of teeth: in one case – underdevelopment of enamel, in the other – partial congenital adentia. A set of specific features on the postcranial skeleton of a man allow us to characterize him as a rider, right-handed.

Discussion. The results of the study supplement our knowledge about the variability of morphological features of the skeleton of representatives of the nomads of the early Sarmatian culture. Some of the detected signs have a pronounced genetic determination; however, the data obtained is insufficient to identify kinship ties, despite the fact that according to the interpretation of archaeologists, this group of burials is defined as a generic cemetery created during the lifetime of one generation. All the discovered features of the skeleton find analogies among the published materials of synchronous time. © 2023. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license.

Introduction. Paleoanthropological studies of Medieval North African materials are extremely few. Despite the large number of international expeditions working in the region, very few results of craniometric and osteometric data are presented. This is partly due to the loss of practical measurement skills in European anthropological schools in the second half of the 20th century, partly due to the difficulties of studying the graves of the Islamic period. Several seasons of work of the Nubian Archaeological and Anthropological Expedition of the Research Institute and the Museum of Anthropology of Lomonosov Moscow State University on the Southern Necropolis of the medieval site Derakheyb (Republic of Sudan) were devoted to the study of this population. The purpose of the publication is characteristics of the medieval population buried in the Southern Necropolis of the Derakheyb site due to osteological features and introducing the new data.

Materials and methods. The material is the bones of the postcranial skeleton of adult individuals (14 men and 9 women). The technique corresponds to the classical program in the modification of V.P. Alekseev (a total of 74 signs and 16 pointers). The reconstruction of the body length was carried out, the total body dimensions were described, and the proportion indicators were calculated. For intra-group analysis, the principal component method was used, which was carried out using individual data using the R language.

Results and discussion. The male population is characterized by average total body size and shoulder width, while the female series is relatively narrow-shouldered. In the male series, the distal parts of the arms and legs are elongated relative to the proximal ones, and the lower limbs are elongated relative to the upper ones. The women's series featured a more graceful physique. The distal part of the leg is elongated relative to the proximal one, as in the male group; there is also some shortening of the upper limbs relative to the lower ones. Body length varies between 166 cm for men and 156 cm for women.

Conclusion. According to osteometry data, the medieval population of the city of Derakheyb can be characterized as heterogeneous, the individuals that stand out mainly correspond to those that stood out according to craniological data. The male part of the population is medium-massive, and the female part is graceful. The entire sample is characterized by shortened lower limbs relative to the arms, as well as elongated distal parts of the arms and legs relative to the proximal ones, which reflects one of the features of the tropical adaptive type. © 2024. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license

Introduction. The study presents an osteometric analysis of the postcranial skeleton from the Medieval population of Deraheib (Sudan, 9th-11th centuries CE), identified with the gold-mining and trading center of Al-Allaqi. The research aims to integrate morphological characteristics of the series into existing datasets and contextualize Deraheib's population against earlier and contemporaneous groups from North/South Africa and Southern Europe.

Materials and methods. The study examined skeletal remains of 23 adults (14 males, 9 females) from Muslim burials at the Southern Necropolis. A standard osteometric protocol (74 measurements) focused on limb proportions. Comparative analysis included 15 series from North/South Africa and Southern Europe using multivariate statistics (canonical discriminant analysis, decision trees).

Results and discussion. The Deraheib series occupies an intermediate morphological position among Northeast African groups. Lower limb proportions show affinities with Egyptian series and one Lower Nubian group (Sayala), featuring relatively elongated tibiae. Upper limb characteristics align with Upper Nubian (Kerma) and Egyptian (Deir el-Banat) groups, displaying developed distal segments. Females particularly resemble the Sayala series in maximal tibiofemoral indices. Multivariate analysis indicates closest similarity with Deir el-Banat.

Conclusion. The research reveals complex biological diversity in the region, demonstrating both geographical patterning (distinct Nubian, Sudanese, Egyptian clusters) and population-specific traits. Observed morphological variation likely resulted from local ecological adaptation, ethnic cultural practices, and intensive migration at this trade route crossroads.

Funding. This work was done with the support of MSU Program of Development, Project No 23-SCH02-22 (agreement number 004179) NOSH MSU Preservation of world cultural and historical heritage “History, anthropology and ethnology of Northeast Africa in the context of environmental changes over the last 13 thousand years (experience of interdisciplinary research)”.

Acknowledgements. The authors would like to express their gratitude to the director of the Research Institute and the Museum of Anthropology of Lomonosov Moscow State University, Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Dr. A.P. Buzhilova, as well as to the Paleoethnology Research Center, and personally to the deputy director for science of the Paleoethnology Research Center, Ph.D. D.V. Pezhemsky for their help in organizing the expedition and for valuable recommendations and comments.