On the origin of the Early Iron Age Kashino population of Western Siberia (archaeological and dental non-metric data evidence)

In this study, based on the analysis of the dental characteristics of the series from the burial ground Abatsky-3 (III–V centuries AD) we considered the questions of the origin of the Kashin population of Western Siberia of the early Iron Age. Despite the small number of the studied sample (16 individuals), the detailed morphological characteristics and the results of multivariate statistical analysis made it possible to clarify a number of hypotheses about the origins and relationships of the Early Iron Age Kashino population of Western Siberia. The specificity of the Kashino population from the Abatsky-3 burial ground lies in a high predominance of the “Eastern” dental non-metric complex, namely, in the high frequencies of the 6-cusps lower molars, the distal trigonid crest, and, to a lesser extent, the deflecting wrinkle on the first lower molars. This complex of characteristics clearly differentiates this population from the groups of the Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age of Western Siberia and adjacent territories. According to the results of our study, it can be assumed that populations of the Kashino and Sargat cultures (latter is the closest to the representatives of the Kashino culture in the territorial and cultural terms) have different origin and their contacts were based more on cultural rather than population interactions. The results of the analysis favor to the hypothesis of the penetration of the Kama population related to the Ananyino and Glyadenovo cultures into the Trans-Urals and suggest the contribution of the Ananyino groups in the formation of the Kashino population.

Sosruco Rockshelter: revision of materials of the excavation by S.N. Zamiatnin and the Upper Horizons Radiocarbon Chronology

Recently new investigations of Sosruko site have been conducted. Unfortunately, the materials of the site have not been interpreted in the proper way. The main task of the article is to clarify the origin of stone industries of the Sosruko complexes. We suggest that complexes of the Layers M1 and M2 are related to the Kobuleti Culture of the Transcaucasia. This cultural phenomenon appeared in beginning of the 10th millennium BC as a result of the migration of the carriers of the M’lefaat Culture from the Middle East. Transcaucasia was not the end point of the M’lefaatian migration. Its further expansion resulted to the appearance of the Kukrek Culture in the Steppe zone of Ukraine and Moldova. The common elements of this material culture include the usage of pressing flaking, the presence of bullet-like cores, backed bladelets, bilateral burins, and the sporadic usage of microburin technique for manufacturing of the truncated facetted points. Some of the late materials from the M1 layer are associated with the Darkveti culture of the Transcaucasus. This culture appeared at the beginning of Boreal. The migration of carriers of the Darkveti Culture to Eastern Europe, which started in the 8th millennium BC, led to formation of the Matveev Kurgan and Grebeniki Cultures in the basins of Don, Dnieper, South Bug and Dniester. The common elements of these three cultures are the presence of the flat one- or two-platform monofrontal cores for obtaining the pressing blades and bladelets, symmetric trapezes. The materials from the layers M3 and M4 of Sosruko site demonstrate complete similarity with the Shan-Koba Culture of the Final Pleistocene – Early Holocene. The connection of the Shan-Koba Culture with the Karein B Culture in the South-West of Asia Minor is also considered. We see the similar geometric complexes in both cultures, the presence of low trapezes, symmetric lunates, triangles. Carriers of both cultures use the microburin technique for geometric microliths manufacturing. The migration of the Asia Minor inhabitants began during Bølling interstadial. The migrants reached the Central Caucasus in Allerød. The migration flows at the end of Pleistocene and the beginning of Holocene were the prelude of the Neolithization processes of Eastern Europe and Transcaucasia. The Shan-Kobian migration started a succession of movements of the Near East and Middle East populations to the East Europe and to Caucasus. The migrations of the carriers of the M’lefaat (Kobuleti) and Darkveti cultures led to the appearance of the global zones of informational continuity (Cultural-Historical Regions) in the frames of which the Neolithic innovations were spread in the area. The materials from the Sosruko Grotto give us an opportunity to reveal the chronology of the very beginning phases of the Neolithization in Eastern Europe.

Cranial materials from the Oglakhty burial ground

In this article means of cranial measurements and indexes of the Tashtyk sample from the Oglakhty burial ground obtained as a result of analysis and integration of the measurements of G. Debets, V. Alexeev and I. Gokhman are presented. Also we updated the means of the pooled Tashtyk sample. It was demonstrated that the Oglakhty cranial sample cover the whole spectrum of variability of the Tashtyk population. The data on 37 male and 35 female Early Iron Age series of the Tashtyk culture, Early Tes tombs, Tes flat-grave burial grounds, Podgornovo, Bidzha, and Saragashen stages of the Tagar culture, were subjected to canonical variate analysis. The results of the analysis reveals that Tashtyk male and female series are very similar to the Early Tes samples mainly due to higher cranial index in both male and female samples and smaller nose protrusion angle in male sample. Describing the variety of options for postmortem trepanations of the Tashtyk skulls, we argue that the trepanation process was not a ritual in itself, but was a routine procedure aimed at extracting the brain.

New data on human skulls from the ritual complex of the Bystrovka-2 Early Iron Age burial ground

Various kinds of postmortem manipulations with the bodies of the dead were widespread in the ritual practice of the Scythian tribes of Eurasia. One of the evidences of such practice is finds of isolated skeletal bones or skulls buried in an unusual context. One of the sites where such finds was discovered is the Bystrovka-2 burial ground of the Kamenka archaeological culture in the Novosibirsk Ob region. In the kurgan 9 of this site, a ritual complex containing the burial of three human skulls, previously displayed on stakes or poles was excavated. In this article we present the results of recent anthropological analyzes of these skulls and discuss the question concerning the origin of the sacrificed people. The analyzed data allow us to say that in the Kamenka society, putting heads on poles rather had an apotropic function than was connected with military cults. The sacrificed people were selected from the strongest and healthiest young people. The condition of the bones of the skull and dentition of the examined individuals definitely indicates a relatively low level of biological stress. Comparison of the skulls from Bystrovka-2 with the skull found at the Kulayka settlement of Bolshoi Log in Omsk showed the possibility of coincidence of some mythical and ritual practices among the Kamenka and Kulayka archaeological cultures. The intentional lesions found on the skulls from these two sites are functionally and anatomically fully identical. The first group of injuries observed at the base of the skull are traces of postmortem decapitation, the second found on the cranial vault is technological holes for fixing the head on a pole. The central element of the ritual in both cases was precisely placing the head on a pole and thus creating an apotrope indicating the border of the “clean” territory.

The core principle is to put heart into your work

Here is the interview with one of the most outstanding Russian physical anthropologist, the author of more than 250 scientific papers, published in the leading Russian and foreign publications, the creator of one of the areas of population studies — “ethnic cranioscopy”, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Chief Researcher of the MAE RAS Alexander G. Kozintsev, recently celebrated his 75th anniversary.

The studies on the Sungir Upper Paleolithic site in 2014–2015

The article is devoted to the results of archaeological excavations carried out on the Sungir in 2014-2015. The main purpose of these works was to obtain new data on the spatial structure of the cultural layer of the Sungir site. The relevance of these studies is caused by still unsolved question of whether Sungir can be considered as a site with a complex archaeological stratigraphy or the features of its spatial structure are only the result of natural postdepositional processes. Descriptions and characteristics of the stratigraphy of sediments, the spatial organization of the cultural layer, the species’ attribution and taphonomy of the faunal collection, the typology and technology of the stone industry, as well as new radiocarbon dating are given. It is noted that the excavations of 2015 were conducted on the peripheral part of the accumulations which were opened in the excavation unit III by O.N. Bader. Most of the animal bones found during excavations can be considered as belonging to species that the settlers hunted. The analysis of the stone inventory allowed us to identify the following production chains of manufacture: the production of large flakes, the production of blades, and the production of thin bifaces. The data obtained during the typological and technological study of blades and bladelets make it possible to suggest the existence of the fundamental differences between the Sungir industry and the industries of the Aurignacian technocomplex. Predominance of large flakes in the Sungir stone industry, as well as the characteristic techniques in bifaces production, which were recorded in the collection, allow us to consider so-called Streletskian culture as a more reasonable analogy to it. The stratigraphic position both of artifacts and accumulations of archaeological material, as well as the spatial context of the dated bone samples from reconnaissance trench No. 4 (2014), support the conclusion that the cultural layer of the Sungir site was formed in several stages. The results of archaeological work carried out on Sungir in 2014–2015 indicate the real perspectives for its further study. One of the urgent tasks facing the researchers of this outstanding site is the reconstruction of the spatial structure, including its archaeological stratigraphy.

Horse's hoof motif in the art of ancient nomads (genesis and symbolism)

Among the motives of the ancient nomads’s art, the horse’s hoof attracts special attention of specialists. The sign of hoof is reproduced in the form of a schematic image of a part of a leg (sometimes a pair of hind legs) or an abstract pattern of the hoof’s footprint. Several regional cultural and stylistic areas can be distinguished. The first area is located in the Sayano-Altai region and adjacent territories. The figurative element of the hoof here is presented mainly on ladles and less often on cheek-pieces, and the abstract element of the hoof’s footprint placed on petroglyphs and harness buckles. The second area includes the Dnieper region, the Kuban region, the Caucasus and Iran, where both depicted elements are placed on the cheek-pieces. The South Ural is considered as a buffer zone where European and Asian influences collided. The figurative element here adorns mainly the cheek-pieces, while the abstract element decorates the buckles. The Khakass-Minusinsk Hollow and Kazakhstan are special areas with specific sets of items. The hoof signs in petroglyphs were depicted from the end of the Bronze Age up to the ethnographic time. The hoof signs on items appeared in the second half of the 8th – first half of the 7th century BC. The earliest finds were found in Altai. Probably the Asian territories played the most important role in the development of the hoof’s motive. The disappearance of the horse hoof images from nomadic art occurred in the 3rd century BC. In the second half of the 7th century BC the motive penetrated the Middle East with the carriers of the ancient nomadic culture. The motive of the horse’s hoof transformed into an additional detail of the animal’s figure — a mouth or an ear. The horse hoof was associated with certain ideas among the ancient nomads. The image of a horse’s hoof in petroglyphs served as a pictogram, ethnic or social emblem. The motive depicted on the objects could also serve as a symbol of a certain group of people. Presumably, these were the royal Scythians, known by the «History» of Herodotus, — an association of nomads those played a significant part in the formation of the archaic Scythian culture.

The burial ground on Tankovoye Lake (Iturup Island): brief history and results of researches

The burial ground located on a bank of Tankovoye Lake (Kuibyshevskoye) is one of the key sites in the archaeology of the Kuril Islands. This is due not only to the fact that huge archaeological collections reflecting all stages of peopling of the region have been collected here over many years of excavations but also to the fact that this burial ground still remains the only object of this kind throughout the entire islands chain. Moreover, apart of the burials themselves, the stone burial structures, which have not yet been recorded on other sites of the Kuril Islands, but have analogies in the Jōmon culture, were also revealed at the site. Interest in this site is also enhanced by recent genetic studies, which unexpectedly demonstrated a high level of genetic similarity of a person buried here with modern Koryaks and Itelmens. At the same time, despite the site’s uniqueness, it is heavily underrepresented in available scientific publications. Information about it can be found only in the field reports and in few the hard-to-reach regional publications. Therefore, this article provides a brief overview of all data gathered at this site. It is based on the field reports, data from the private archive of Y. Knorozov, museum collections of the Sakhalin Regional Museum, and on the results of the author’s own research as well. Summing up the outcomes of long-term researches, we have to state that the site’s unique objects remain almost unexplored. For many years, studies here were limited to visual examination, cleaning up of the dune opening, and surface artifact gathering. Therefore, the nature of the burial objects found at the site might be recognized only in the most general terms. Their cultural affiliation also remains questionable. Radiocarbon dates suggest that the early Epi-Jōmon epoch is most powerfully represented near the lake, while the bulk of the ceramics collected here belongs to the later stage of this epoch (in accordance with archaeological data from Hokkaido). In addition, artifacts of Middle and Final Jōmon, Okhotsk culture, Satsumon-Tobinitai culture, and Ainu are presented here as well. Presumably, people could bury their dead here during the epochs of Final Jōmon, Epi-Jōmon and, possibly, the Okhotsk culture.

Preliminary data on preservation of the cultural layer of the Middle Paleolithic site of Sukhaya Mechetka (excavation 1)

The Sukhaya Mechetka Middle Paleolithic site which was excavated over a wide area (around 650 m2) is one of few Eastern European sites where 3D fixation of every find was done. The study is focused on estimation of cultural layer preservation in the excavation 1. This yielded possibility to define zones of different production activities within homogeneous horizons. The analysis of archaeostratigraphy demonstrated homogeneity of the most parts of cultural horizon. While its thickness usually varies from 5 to 35 cm in few cases it reaches 105 cm. It is suggested that most areas with disturbed cultural horizons are associated with a shift of control point or related near the ravine zone. This article presents preliminary results, research will continue. The archaeostratigraphy analysis for excavation 2, refitting data analysis, field documentation from the personal archive of S.N. Zamyatnin, quantitative and qualitative analysis of the composition of finds within different zones of the site will allow a more detailed understanding the problem posed.

On the application of the averaged correlation matrix in craniometry

The article presents an averaged correlation matrix for 20 craniometric features, calculated for 24 male Eurasian samples. In some cases, correlation matrices calculated for different samples vary significantly; however, the fluctuations in the coefficients are usually random. Most correlation coefficients between craniometric traits have low positive values. The Mantel test, often used to compare matrices, produces incorrect results, since it is insensitive to the relationship between the value of the correlation coefficient and its stability: the lower the value of the correlation coefficient, the higher its random variability. At the same time, averaged correlation matrix based on individual data is similar to the averaged correlation matrices based on worldwide data used by Russian anthropologists at present. The usefullness of averaged correlation matrices for intergroup comparisons has been tested. It was also shown that the use of the averaged matrix for calculating the Mahalanobis distances produces results comparable to the calculations based on individual data. The analyzed samples can represent populations both from the local settlements and territorial communities. That was confirmed by the results of a series of tests for the Eastern European cranial samples, which were not used in the calculation of the averaged matrix. In conclusion some biases in the analysis of correlation coefficients caused by false ideas about their properties are considered.