The complex characteristics of anthropological materials of the late 17th – beginning 18th centuries from the square named after M.Yu. Lermontov in Penza

Abstract

Background. The study of the of the dental system and the postcranial skeleton of people which lived in distant historical epochs make understand how exogenous conditions affect the physique, constitution and other specificity of the human body. Material and methods. The studied materials consisted of the incomplete postcranial skeleton and fragments of the skull (including the right maxilla and mandible) of man 20-30 years old. This individual lived in the late 17th – beginning 18th centuries in Penza. The individual’s dental system has been studied in accordance with the methodology of A.A. Zubov and his following. Elements of the postcranial skeleton were studied according to the method of R. Martin. Results. The individual did not have odontological attributes typical of the eastern odontological branch. Attributes of the reduction complex of the dental system are weakly expressed. The most probable height of the individual was 167.9 cm (average height according to D.V. Pezhemsky’s rubrication). The left femur was characterized by the large pilaster- index, the high robustness-index, and low the torsion. Eurymeria was characteristic of both femur bones. Tibia bones had the massive structure. The right and left tibia bones were differed in size of the knemia index and the torsion angle. Conclusions. The eurymeria two femurs and the large pilaster-index of the left femur could be of the result of significant physical stress. Partial asymmetry of the tibia could be result of the unbalanced loading on the left and right legs as the result of the lameness of the individual.

Keywords

• anthropological materials
• osteometry
• odontology
• physical activity
• skeletal remains