Paleodemographic Study of the Annunciation Monastery’s Necropolis in Astrakhan

Abstract

As a result of archaeological studies, a large series of anthropological material was obtained, which made it possible to characterize in detail the characteristics of the Russian Astrakhan population in the XVI–XX centuries. A paleodemographic analysis was carried out using materials from the necropolis of the XVI–XIX centuries from the Annunciation Monastery in Astrakhan. The methodology of J.Angel (1969) was used. The total number of individuals was 350. 270 skeletons belonged to adults, 80 – to children. This group was characterized by a rather high average life expectancy (29.3 years), a low percentage of child mortality (22.9%), including in the first year of life. The first peak of mortality occurred in the 0–5 age cohort, the second – at the age of 30–35 years. In general, the authors can ascertain the phenomenon of relative demographic well-being in the study group.

Keywords

• archaeology
• paleodemography
• necropolis
• age cohort
• average life expectancy
• child mortality rate
• mortality peak