Late Medieval Population of Zagorodsky posad (Tver city, Russia) based on Craniometric and Dental Non-Metric Traits

DOI: 10.33876/2311-0546/2023-4/331-348

Abstract

The article presents new craniometric and dental morphology data on the population of the 18^th century Russian city of Tver. Archaeological excavation headed by O. E. Rybakova was carried out on the territory of Tver necropolis (South-east part of Zagorodsky posad – territory division of Tver in 18^th century) in 2019. Revealed human remains were studied according to standard cranial metrics protocol and Russian odontological program of Alexander Zubov. Craniometric data on 11 male skulls and 19 female skulls were compared with 18 Late Mediaeval samples from the European part of Russia using principal component and canonical analyses. Men were found to be morphologically close to previously studied male samples from Tver and Leningrad oblast. They are characterized by high nasal bridge, small nasal height and orbit width and more round head. Women are close to Tver and Kostroma female samples, being characterized by high orbits and narrow foreheads (based on minimum forehead breadth). Dental morphology data on 30 individuals attributes the studied sample to Western odontological stock with features of Northern gracile type. Compared with Late Medieval Tver samples, the studied one shows more reduction of the dental system and higher frequency of shovel-shaped incisors. Small sample size due to poor preservation of human remains not sufficient for observing the key traits precludes further statistical analysis of dental data. However, the data obtained in this study suggest possible Finno-Ugric origin of the described features. This hypothesis will be tested in further studies.