scholarly journals Anthropological aspect of the artificial skull deformation custom among the Middle Bronze Age population of the Lower Volga region

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 219-227
Author(s):  
Mariya Afanasievna Balabanova

This paper reviews an anthropological aspect of the artificial skull deformation which was practiced by the tribes of catacomb cultural-historical community of the Middle Bronze Age of the Lower Volga region and adjacent territories. Craniological series, numbering 207 skulls, was checked for the presence of deformation traces. 81 skulls had the traces of deformation, which is 35,2% of the total number. On average, the percentage of deformed skulls in some burial grounds of the catacomb culture of the Volgograd Region is about 17,0%, but there are a few burial grounds in craniological series where deformed skulls are absent. The type of deformation is identified as annular and frontal-occipital. The analysis of anthropological works of Russian and foreign authors as well as written sources allows to agree with the idea of A.V. Shevchenko that the custom of the skull deformation among the tribes of catacomb cultural-historical community penetrated through the cultural centers of Western Asia. The comparison of deformed and unstrained series of skulls showed that only signs of the cerebral box undergo a change under the influence of the deforming structure in most cases. The deforming effect of the structure on facial features is very weak. When the process of pressure is completed, the skull acquires a tower shape or a shape of a high cone.

Author(s):  
Alexandr Dyachenko ◽  

The article is devoted to the publication and analysis of new burial materials of the pre-Scythian period (9th – 7th centuries BC), obtained as a result of excavations of several burial mounds in the Volgograd region. The work was carried out by the expedition of Volgograd State University from the end of the past to the beginning of the present century. The burial mounds were located on the coastal terraces of the Don river and some of its tributaries, as well as on the steppe watersheds associated with the Don basin. The sample includes seven pre-Scythian burials, the burial rite and clothing material of which allows us to correlate them with the previously discovered monuments of the Chernogorovskaya Culture of the southern Russian steppes and date them within the boundaries of the initial stage of the early Iron Age. According to archaeological and anthropological data, various components were involved in the formation of this culture in the Lower Volga region and the neighbouring Don and the Volga-Ural regions. The basis was autochthonous substrates of the Late Bronze Age, as well as cultural formations derived from them at the final stage of the Late Bronze Age. The combination of local and imported cultural traditions is also reflected in the grave inventory of the studied series, especially in the ceramic complex, which shows technological and typological features of various origin. The variety of elements of the funeral rite and the mixed nature of the accompanying inventory of the presented burial series reflect the complex processes of cultural genesis in the Lower Volga region in the pre-Scythian period during transition to a nomadic economy.


Author(s):  
Mariya Balabanova

Introduction. The author of the article considers the cultural and morphological differentiation of the population of the Middle Bronze Age in the Lower Volga region and adjacent territories. Methods and materials. The researcher has analyzed 18 male craniological series, which were compiled from published and new materials. The authors contribution is more than 230 skulls. The comparative analysis has been carried out by the canonical method to solve the problem. The Mahalanobis proximity distance matrix has been processed by cluster analysis to visualize the results as a dendrogram. Analysis. The results of the comparative analysis reveal a significant morphological similarity of the population of the Lower Volga region catacomb circle cultures who did not practice the deformation custom, except for a burial ground series of the Volga-Don variant. First of all this similarity can be explained by the commonality of the genetic substrate. A series of skulls with traces of artificial deformation has a certain similarity, the distribution of intergroup variability can be associated not only with the modeling effect of the deforming structure on the craniological patterns, but also the genetic relationship of this group of populations. Results. The series of the Volga-Don variant is more similar to the Poltavka culture series in the Lower Volga region, which confirms the hypothesis made by some scientists about the evolutionary nature of the development of cultural elements from the earlier Poltavka to the later Volga-Don ones. This group has some similarities with the late Ymna population of the Lower Volga region. As for the population of the PostCatacomb time (Krivolukskaya and Lola cultures), they differ from the rest of the population by a longer and narrower skull, which is apparently related to the foreign cultural component that took part in the origin of these populations.


2020 ◽  
pp. 83-91
Author(s):  
Ivan Suslov ◽  

The article analyzes the data of a sociological survey conducted in the spring of 2020 of the Bottom Volga area by the research team of the Department of history, political science and sociology of the Saratov state law Academy. Primary sociological information was collected using the Internet survey of respondents using the Google forms service. The sample size was 1,100 people. Representatives of the Astrakhan region (184 respondents), Volgograd region (307) and Saratov region (609) were interviewed. The empirical study allowed us to determine the influence of respondents' religion on the perception of religious threats, as well as problems of interfaith dialogue. The regional specifics of the quality of interfaith relations were revealed, and the levels of religious tension in the Astrakhan, Volgograd and Saratov regions were compared. The survey revealed hidden tensions in the region's interfaith relations (including among the Orthodox majority). Representatives of the Muslim community showed an optimistic attitude in their responses. A potentially dangerous predisposition to politicizing religion has been identified among those groups that are under pressure to identify with their faith. The study revealed: there is a high level of concern about issues of faith among representatives of the Muslim community; a positive attitude towards increasing the role of religion in socio-political life, increasing the level of secularization of society. Atheists of the Lower Volga region showed open dissatisfaction with the state of religious relations in the region. Atheists of the Lower Volga region showed open dissatisfaction with the state of religious relations in the region. This group appears as an object of the religious security system, which under pressure is transformed into a subject protesting against secularization processes. The author concludes that the main strategy should be to study and solve the internal problems of religious minorities, and a complementary strategy can be to counteract external (foreign) religious threats.


Author(s):  
Roman Kalinichenko ◽  
Marina Klimahina ◽  
Kseniya Shumakova ◽  
Elena Macyganova ◽  
Nikolay Dudakov

This paper presents microbiological composition of lightbrown soil in the Lower Volga Region, which has been harvest on different nutriculture mediums. Diagnosed characteristics of microbian biocoenosis expansion on drip irrigation and unwatered soils. The Fusarium, Bacillus subtilis and Erwinia, which make more difficult to cultivate and preserve the agricultural produce, had located in irrigated plow horizon of light-brown soil of Volgograd Region. The forms of soil humidity on drip irrigation had not show any influence on microbiological composition.


Author(s):  
Evgeny Pererva ◽  
Alexandr Djachenko

Introduction. This work is a review of scientific publications on studying paleoanthropological materials of the Bronze Age originating from burial mounds of the Lower Volga region. Materials and Analysis. The paper begins with the analysis of articles and monographic studies of domestic authors, whose works were written in the period from the 30s to the late 80s of the 20th century. The so-called Soviet period in Russian anthropology is characterized by the dominance of the individual-typological approach in describing skeletal series of representatives of the Bronze Age cultures. The osteological collections from burial complexes of the Bronze Age of the Lower Volga region accumulated at this stage of the study were distinguished by a small number and low representativeness. The main conclusions were based on studying craniological samples. A great contribution to developing ideas on the racial and ethnic history of the Lower Volga region during this period was made by researchers G.F. Debets, V.V. Gizburg, V.I. Vuich, B.V. Firshtein, A.V. Shevchenko. The second part of the article is devoted to analyzing the results of anthropological research in the region in the works of modern Russian scientists.A distinctive feature of these works is that they are based on studying large-scale craniological series of broad temporal and territorial coverage. The studies of such scientists as A.A. Khokhlov, E.F. Batieva, A.A. Kazarnitsky, M.A. Balabanova use the complex approach in which classical methods of physical anthropology (craniology, osteology) are combined with the methods of statistical analysis and using data from Archaeology, Paleodemography, and Paleoecology. Results. The work shows the importance of using anthropological data as an independent source in paleohistorical constructions, as well as in the process of the archaeological study of various cultures of the Bronze Age that existed in the Lower Volga region.


Author(s):  
Evgenii Vladimirovich Pererva ◽  
Aleksandr Vladimirovich Sitnikov

Skeletal remains from the burials of timber-grave period of the Late Bronze Age originating from kurgans of the Archedino-Chernushensky group served as the material for this research. The archaeological monument is located in the territory of the Frolovsky Municipal District of Volgograd Oblast. The remains of 12 individuals (6 adults, 4 children, and 2 adolescents) were explored. In the course of this research, the author applied the method of account for the occurrence of discretely varying traits on the skull and bones of postcranial skeleton, as well as evaluation program for dissemination of pathological characteristic developed by the national researchers A. A. Movsesyan, E. V. Pererva, A. P. Buzhilova. The archaeological explorations of group Archedino-Chernushensky Kurgan group were carried out in 2020. Therefore, the acquired anthropological materials are introduced into the scientific discourse for the first time. The author was able to establish that the equal number of children and adult burials can be attributed to timber-grave period. The examined skeletal remains of the Late Bronze Age of the Lower Volga Region demonstrate the signs of episodic stress (enamel hypoplasia) and distribution of diseases related to the deficiency of microelements in the body (porosis of the diaphysis in individuals who did not reach the age of puberty). The records of such type of deviations on anthropological materials of deviations indicates chronic stress associated with systematic occurrences of famine, which is natural for the population of the Late Bronze Age of the Lower Volga Region, who were involved in mixed farming. The excavations reveal the series of injuries of household and battle nature among adult population. The prevalent burial method of timber-grave culture Archedino-Chernushensky Kurgan group of appears to be the cremation ritual.   


2020 ◽  
pp. 61-64
Author(s):  
Alexander Sergeevich Filatov ◽  
Margarita Vasilievna Zabelina ◽  
Dmitry Vladimirovich Nikolaev ◽  
Viktor Vladimirovich Ponomarev ◽  
Bogdan Alexandrovich Sherstyuk ◽  
...  

The article presents data on the study of the reproductive qualities of purebred pigs of a large white breed of the pig breeding complex in the Lower Volga region (PZK named after Lenin Surovikinsky district of the Volgograd region (54 thousand pigs). 59 heads of pigs of the Taiga family were selected for scientific and economic experiment, which were inseminated with boars-producers of different lines. 3 groups were formed: 25 heads were inseminated with the seed of boars-producers of the Leopard line; 18 heads – the SWAT line and 16 heads-The F. Marshal line. It was found that in The leopard line at 120 days of age, the live weight is higher by 2.75 kg than in the SWAT line and 2.27 kg than in The F. Marshall line. Analyzing the data obtained in the course of research of young animals, we can conclude that in percentage terms, the largest number of boars in the F. Marshall line is 54.35%, which is higher in comparison with analogues from The leopard and SWAT lines by 13.06 and 11.56%, respectively. The highest indicators were obtained for animals of The F. Marshall line.


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