Bioarcheology of the Bronze Age Population in the Kumo-Manych Depression (Russia)

摘要

In this work we present a morphological study of postcranial skeletons from the Yamna-culture burials of the following barrow groups: Zunda-Tolga, Manjikiny, Mu-Sharet, Ostrovnoy, which are situated in the right bank of the Manych river in Kalmykia, and Peschany-V, located near the village of Remontnoe in the south of Rostov Oblast. The Yamna culture is the earliest culture of the Bronze Age, which existed in the studied territories in 3300-2350 BC. We also used some finds from the Yamna-culture burials in Rostov Oblast as comparative material. This collection is kept in the Southern Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Rostov-on-Don. The burials were situated in various parts of the Don catchment area within Rostov Oblast (Lower Don region). The skeletal materials were collected by the joint expedition of the State Historical Museum (Moscow) and the Kalmyk Institute of Economic and Legal Research in the territory of the Republic of Kalmykia and in the south of Rostov Oblast. The collection is kept in the archaeological department of the State Historical Museum. We have taken measurements and then calculated various indices of skeletal proportions, as well as robustness and strength indices of limb bones. Variations in values of various indices are presented in works of Y.Y. Roginsky and M.G. Levin and E.N. Khrisanfova. The intravital body length was reconstructed with the use of Bunak, Dupertuis and Hadden formulae. Thus, in terms of limb proportions, intravital body length, some peculiarities of body build and morphology of limb bones, the two series are not completely homogeneous. The common features for the Yamna-culture people from the barrow burials in the territory of the Republic of Kalmykia are: quite long legs, comparatively short tibiae, broad shoulders among males, average or above-the-average intravital body length. All the long arm bones and tibiae were characterized by considerable robustness. The Yamna-culture people from the Lower Don region were also united by comparatively long legs, average correlation between the antebrachium and tibia length, slightly elongated tibiae in relation to femurs. The intravital body length was average or above the average. The individuals were characterized by average or high robustness of humeri, radii, femurs and tibiae.