ANTHROPOLOGICAL MATERIALS OF THE CHERNYAKHIV CULTURE’S CEMETERY NEAR VILLAGE POPIVKA

Abstract

The archaeological research of the Chernyakhiv Culture’s cemetery near village Popivka (Lipovetsky district, Vinnytsia region) was carried in 2017. Authors of excavation were O. V. Petrauskas and M. O. Avramenko. 22 inhumations were examined.
 Anthropological material was studied according to the different programs in the Laboratory of the Institute of Archaeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
 A small series of skulls can be attributed as belonging to the European race. Female skulls of this group are larger and more massive than male skulls. This situation can occur when men and women in a group have origins in different populations. Another explanations may be that more massive men from this population took part in military campaigns and were buried in foreign lands.
 The group of female skulls is more representative. It allows to craniologist to get more information. Female series is homogeneous. It belongs to North Caucasians.
 It characterizes by a long, dolichocranial skull, medium-wide (with tendencies to broad) face. Face is sharp profile at a horizontal area. Nose is narrow and sharp. Women may have been genetically related or descended from populations for which dolichocrania is typical.
 Anthropological parallels of the Popivka cemetery’s women skulls were found in the forest-steppe zone cemeteries of the right bank of Dnieper river (Maslove, Chernykhiv, Beluka Bugaivka). The most similarity are between women from Popivka and Maslove. Popivka series clearly indicates north-western direction of anthropological links. This direction is confirmed by statistic analysis. Women from Popivka have the most similarity to women from cemeteries of Baltic region 2—5 cent. and in less degree to the Prszeworsk Culture of Poland.