Morphology of the Skulls from the Burials in the Village of Zalutske (tract Staikyn Verkh), Sumy Region (the 18th – 19th Centuries)

Abstract

The focus of this article is on the publication of craniological findings from a cemetery located near Zalutske village (tract Staikyn Verkh), Romny district. Materials and methods: Anthropological materials dating from the 18–19th cent. primarily consist of well-preserved human skulls. The collection comprises 8 items, including 5 male and 3 female skulls. Measurements were conducted following a comprehensive craniometric program based on R. Martin’s standard technique, with numbered features indicated accordingly. Software for multidimensional analysis was developed by B. and A. Kozintsev in 1991. The primary objective of this research is to present new craniological data to the scientific community, providing a general description of local inhabitants in comparison to neighboring ethnic groups in Ukraine and Eastern Europe. The study aims to determine the distance between individual series from the 14–19th cent. through multidimensional canonical and cluster analysis, seeking to position local peasants within the system of craniological types in Eastern Europe and the pheno-geographic anthropological zones of Ukraine. Novelty in research lies in the submission of craniometric measurements and characteristics from skulls of the 18–19th cent. in a craniological series from Zalutske village, a first-time occurrence. Results show the creation of a male series from Zalutske village of the 18–19th cent., consisting of 5 skulls. The group is characterized as moderately brachycranial based on the average craniometric values. Upon comparing the studied male group from the 18–19th cent. with synchronous series and samples from the 16th to 19th centuries in Eastern, Central, and Western Europe using multidimensional canonical and cluster analysis, partial similarity to the Transcarpathian urban group of Uzhhorod was observed.