Morphotypological cranium variability in the population of central Belarus in the 2nd – early 3rd millennium A.D.

Abstract

The article investigates cranial variability in the inhabitants of, for the most part, central Belarus within the space of the second to early third millennium AD. In analysing the craniometric and cephalometric material we have used the morphotypological approach. We have used the classification of skull morphotypes proposed by V. V. Bunak, which is based on the correlation of the classes of the absolute values of the transversal and longitudinal braincase diameters. Co-variability of the basic diameters of human skulls on the Belarusian territory in the above-mentioned period has been taking place within the paraeuroid-mesoid (pm), i.e. mediumbroad medium dolichocephalic (long-headed) morphotype (10–13th centuries, 18–19th centuries and the early 21st century) with transition to the euroid-mesoid (em), i.e. to broad medium dolichocephalic (second half of 20th century) аnd with the subsequent return to paraeuroid-mesoid (mediumbroad medium dolichocephalic) morphotype in the early 21st century. Thus, on the basis of the morphotypological approach (Bunak, 1922), we can state that the contribution of the transverse diameter both in epochal and in intergenerational typological variability of the cerebral part of the head appears to be more significant.