Anthropological data to the 10th century history of a microregio at the site opposite the mouth of the Maros River

Marcsik Antónia

MŐT Kiadványok 4.(2015) 433–463.

DOI 10.55722/Arpad.Kiad.2015.4_10

The main goal of the study is to contribute to a better understanding of the 10th century population living at the mouth of the Maros river in the Danube–Tisza Interfl uve through the anthropological analysis of the human skeletal remains. The archeological sites (solitary, small group burial grounds, and two larger burial grounds) are known from studies by L. Bende, B. Kürti, G. Lőrinczy and A. Türk. The number of sites of the skeletal material investigated is 21 and that of the specimens is 262. Their state of preservation is varied, ranging from poorly preserved to medium well preserved. The distribution of the age and sexes is as follows: children (inf. I. and II.) and juveniles account for 23% (61 individuals), while adults for 77% (201 individuals), the breakdown according to sex of the adults is 52% for males (105 individuals) and 48% for females (96 individuals). The grouping of the metric data according to the classifi cation system developed by P. Alekseev, G. Debetz and R. Martin has shown that neurocranium of males could be assigned to short (brachykran) and medium tall (orthokran), whereas that of females to medium short and tall (hypsikran). In both sexes the forehead and the viscerocranium are medium short and medium tall (metriometop and mesen). The average stature of males was 168 cm, that of females was 156 cm. According to taxonomic analysis the population living at the mouth of the Maros river in the Danube– Tisza Interfl uve (cf. the small group and solitary burial grounds) was dominated by Europids in both sexes (a major component could be noted, especially crA (-x) and crB (-x) and their variants). A brachykran group (br-x, p-x) could be distinguished in the taxonomic make-up. The Mongolid types were also diagnosed representing Sayan and Inner-Asian types in two males and two females. The proportion of the Europo-Mongolids is qiute signifi cant (turanid, undeterminable types and sum Mongolid traits) in 11 skulls. It is noteworthy that two larger number burial grounds (in the Algyő and Sándorfalva populations) represented only European chracters. Among the pathological cases — from all the investigated burial grounds — the following were more signifi cant: the traits of osteoarthritis (degenerative spondylitis and arthritis). The most important to mention are ankylosing spondylitis (spondylitis ankylopetica) and skeletal dysplasia (dysplasia fi brosa polyostotica) in the Algyő cemetery. Atypical cases of bone tuberculosis are noteworthy only in the Sándorfalva cemetery. The traumatic lesions and the traces of the metabolic and endocrine disorders are not considerable. Surgical trephinaton (complete) type of artifi - cial intervention can be seen in three skulls (Szeged, Csongrádi út and Szeged-Öthalom in two cases). The second type of interventions, incomplete trephination (altogether 12 intervention) were recorded on the skulls of fi ve sites. It is hypothesized that trephinations were applied with the aim of treatment. The Penrose distance analysis indicated that this microregion is different not only from other series in the Danube–Tisza Interfl uve but also from one from the Trans-Tisza region. On the basis of the taxonomical analysis, the Mongolid type could be analysed in this microregion. Thistype is presented in other material of the 10–11th century cemetery in the Danube–Tisza Interfl uve and in the Trans-Tisza region also. The question is how the Mongolid component can be connected with the Mongolid types of other regions. To answer this question further skeletal material must be investigated not only from the Danube–Tisza interfl uve but also from the Trans-Tisza region.