Introduction. Сomparative data from modern crematoria or experimental cremations of animal carcasses are often used to reconstruct the process of ancient cremations, although this data is not relevant. The goals of this study are to measure the duration of complete body burning; to analyze correlation between the body length and constitution and the body burning duration: to identify general patterns of body destruction process during cremation on a pyre.
Materials and methods. The materials (166 observations of cremations: 96 male, 56 female, 14 of unknown gender) were obtained during the Russian-Indian anthropological expedition of the Paleoethnology Research Center and the State Biology Museum in 2018, 2019 and 2022. The duration of complete incineration of soft tissues was recorded, as well as the body size and the constitution, using three-point assessment scales. In addition, the composition and condition of the cremated bone remains were described. To analyze the differences between samples of individuals with different body sizes and constitution, bivariate graphs and statistical criteria for assessing the differences were used.
Results and discussion. The average time of human body burning during cremation on a pyre was determined. A positive correlation between the duration of cremation and the body size and mesomorphy was found, and a negative correlation between the duration of cremation and ecto- and endomorphy was found. This pattern can be explained by the fact that significant volumes of soft tissues (especially poorly burning muscle tissue) require more time to burn; the predominance of adipose tissue contributes to faster body combustion. The proximal epiphyses of the tibia, distal epiphyses of the femur and vertebral bodies, as well as fragments of the integumentary bones of the skull and diaphyses of the femur, tibia and fibula are best preserved during cremation. The influence of the pyre design and the cremator's activity on the nature of body destruction was noted.
Introduction. The article presents an overview of the results of studies in associations between physical and psychological status of adolescents, published in English-language journals over recent years. The analysis carried out outlines the main directions of current research in this area and allows Russian specialists to be acquainted with the problems and approaches to their solution practiced today by foreign colleagues.
Material and methods. We selected publications that contain the results of studies of representative samples of adolescents from different countries and different ethnicities. Such an approach, on the one hand, makes it possible to highlight problems that are relevant today for adolescents in general, regardless of the place of study, and on the other hand, to outline some regional differences in the characteristics and dynamics of psychosomatic associations.
Results. Modern studies of the connections between the physical and mental status of adolescents highlight the importance of self-esteem of their appearance, primarily of body weight, and related psychological problems: general disorders in the emotional and behavioral sphere, the influence of unrealistic models of appearance as a trigger for eating disorders behavior, decreased self-esteem, difficulties in relationships with peers and family. The authors propose various strategies for adolescents’ acceptance of their own body image and discuss the effectiveness of these strategies. A new and promising area of research seems to be the study of the influence on adolescents by social networks.
Introduction. Left-handedness is a complex biological and social phenomenon influenced by genetic, neurobiological, and cultural factors. Associated with the functional asymmetry of the brain, it can affect cognitive processes, perception, and behavior.
Materials and methods. This article examines various theories on the origin and persistence of left-handedness polymorphism, drawing on data from anthropological, neurobiological, and genetic studies, as well as analyses of archaeological findings and the cultural practices of ancient hominids.
Results and discussion. Anthropological studies indicate that the frequency of left-handedness in human populations ranges from 10% to 25%, with geographical variations influenced by social and cultural factors. In ancient societies, right-handedness was the dominant trait, as confirmed by archaeological evidence, while left-handedness was rare but present. Historically, left-handedness was often viewed as a deviation from the norm, leading to stigmatization and limited social opportunities for left-handed individuals. The prevalence of left-handedness is linked to three groups of factors: pathological, social, and genetic. It has been shown that left-handedness is associated with functional brain asymmetry and can influence cognitive processes, perception, and behavior. The heritability of left-handedness is estimated to be approximately 24%. Genome-wide association studies of handedness have identified 41 genetic variants associated with left-handedness and 7 variants associated with ambidexterity; the involved genes also regulate the development and function of the central nervous system. Genetic variants predisposing to left-handedness may contribute to some associations between left-handedness and certain psychiatric disorders. However, the widespread polymorphism of left-handedness and the relative stability of its frequency in human populations over long periods have led to hypotheses about its maintenance through various forms of negative frequency-dependent selection.
Keywords:
human biology; evolution of left-handedness; genetics of left-handedness; social perception of left-handedness; brain asymmetry; stigmatization of left-handedness
Introduction. A valuable source of anthropological information is the so-called composite portrait, which creates an idea of the «average» type of a particular population group. A composite portrait is a kind of cognitive tool that allows the visualization of the integral morphological characteristics of the variability of the face and elements of appearance. This article is devoted to a comparative analysis of two methods of creating composite photographic portraits.
Materials and methods. The material for the study was photographs of Santal women (N=64), from which composite portraits were generated in two different ways: 1) using two fixed points in Adobe Photoshop; 2) by three points in the faceONface computer program, developed specifically for creating generalized portraits.
Results and discussion. In a composite photograph obtained by the classical method of F. Galton by combining photographs at two pupillary points, the upper half of the face is recorded more clearly in the eye area, but the lower tier of the face remains fuzzy and blurry. When using the third, oral point, we get a clearer picture in the mouth area without losing clarity in the eye area. At the same time, constructing a composite portrait using two fixed points creates an image that reflects the entire range of variability in facial height in the population, and when using three points, facial height is averaged.
Introduction. The possibility of using facial photographs as a replacement for direct anthropometric measurements is being considered. The application of traditional anthropometric measurement program is currently facing significant ethical and psychological difficulties, particularly in measurements of the head and face. As a result, anthropologists worldwide are increasingly substituting direct measurements with measurements obtained fr om photographic images. This transition has been significantly facilitated by the advancement of photographic technology. However, the methodology for utilizing photogrammetric data as a full replacement for direct measurements requires further development and a greater number of studies.
Materials and methods. The material for the research consisted of cephalometric data and anthropological photographs of Tuvans examined during the 2002 expedition under the leadership of V.A. Batsevich. The Tuvan sample consisted of 174 individuals, including 87 women and 87 men aged between 17 and 26 years. Statistical data analysis was carried out using the SPSS software package. Correlation analysis methods and regression equations were used to assess the comparability of dimensions obtained through direct anthropometric measurements and from portraits.
Results. A comparison was made between the dimensions obtained in field conditions and their counterparts obtained from photographs. Gender differences were identified in assessing the degree of comparability of facial dimensions obtained by two methods: through portraits and direct measurements. In the female part of the sample, the degree of correlation was higher and the standard error values were lower. It was found that for dimensions (facial height, nose height, upper lip height) that require points difficult to determine on a planar image, lower correlation values were observed. The unreliability of dimensions in this part of the face was confirmed by the results of constructing regression equations and the high standard error obtained for them.
Introduction. The task of differentiating groups using various statistical methods remains relevant due to the limitations often encountered with standard algorithms. Some of these limitations, such as the assumption of normal distribution of traits and the absence of high correlations between them, can be circumvented by the method based on step-wise partitioning – decision trees.
Materials and methods. In this study, this method was tested on 15 linear dimensions of the skull and 16 indices calculated based on them. The entropy index was chosen as the criterion of heterogeneity. The craniometric features used correspond to the standard methodology adopted in Russian anthropology. The data consisted of average values of craniometric dimensions from 39 ethno-territorial groups from 13 macro-regions of the Old World.
Results and discussion. The results of the differentiation show that indices have a greater weight than linear features. Five linear dimensions and seven indices participated in the differentiation. Three indices were based on the overall dimensions of the braincase (M.1, M.8, M.17), and four indices included the bizygomatic width (M.45). The first split occurs based on the transverse facial index (46:45), separating the groups of Northern, Middle, Central Asia, and Europe from the groups of Africa, Eastern, Southeast, and Southern Asia.
Introduction.One of the traditional tasks of biological anthropology is the study of the morphological status of the indigenous populations. Our aim was to study the somatic status and bioimpedance body composition of young men of Altai and Russian ethnicities aged 17–24 years living in urban and rural areas of the Altai Republic.
Materials and methods.In 2021–2023, 167 men aged 17 to 24 years (87 Altai-Kizhi and 80 Russians) living in urban and rural areas were examined. The examination program included anthropometry, the Heath-Carter somatotyping, and BIA. Ethnic differences and urban-rural differences were assessed using parametric and non-parametric methods.
Results. Ethnically Russian men were, in general, somewhat larger than the Altai men. Significant ethnic differences were found for Ht (174.7 and 172.3 cm), Wt (72.2 and 66.8 kg), BMI (23.6 and 22.5 kg/m2), WC (79.6 and 76.9 cm) and HC (95.5 and 92.4 cm). Significant ethnic differences were also observed for the mesomorphy rating (5.44 and 4.96), the resistance R50 (521.4 and 541.3 Ohms), phase angle (7.35 and 7.08 degrees), FFM (55.1 and 50.9 kg) and FFMi (18.0 and 17.1 kg/m2). The distributions of the somatotype in the subgroups of Altai and Russian men were close, with a predominance of the mesomorphic type. In both ethnic subgroups, there was a tendency to increased body size and body composition parameters’ values in urban residents, with the statistically significant differences in Ht, Wt, BMI, WC, HC and FFM among the Altaians. The urban Russian residents, as compared to urban Altaians, had significantly higher mesomorphy rating and FFM. The rural Russian residents, as compared to rural Altaians (taking into account age differences between the subgroups) had significantly higher age-related z-scores of Ht, Wt, HC, phase angle, FFM and FFMi.
Introduction. The formation of the vector and level of sex somatic differences in parapubertal period (9–17 years) is under discussion, apart with ethnic peculiarities of dynamics of sexual dimorphism of main anthropometric dimensions.
Material and methods. The construction of intergroup distribution of standardized values of sexual dimorphism of body dimensions in 9, 13 and 17 years demanded generalization of the wide spectrum of literary data on children of Russia and former USSR of 1950–2010 (over 500 samples). The quantitative estimation of SD value is based on Kullback divergence, analogue of Makhalanobis distance. To estimate the contribution of ethnic factor to the variation of SD, several pairs of samples of different ethnicity (aboriginal and Russian population), but from one and the same ecological niche, examined simultaneously, were compared.
Results. The significant influence of age factor on intergroup distribution of SD was fixed. Significant positive correlations of SD with the values of dimensions themselves for boys aged 13 and 17 years first of all (0,48–0,63 for height/weight dimensions) and negative or close to zero correlations for girls were revealed. The dynamics of somatic SD through the age interval 9–17 years for pairs of samples Estonians-Russians, Kyrgyz-Russians, Tatars-Russians, Uzbeks-Russians is, as a whole, invariant, concerning ethnicity of samples, and witness to the dominance of age physiological peculiarities over ethnic.
Introduction This study was aimed to evaluate the age-and sex-associated dynamics of the strength indices in Magadan city children and adolescents with different types of physique in the age ontogeny of 11–17 years old.
Materials and Methods One thousand eight hundred and ninety-seven male and female schoolchildren of Magadan city aged 11–17 years participated in the 2019 one-step physical development study. We registered the main somatometric parameters: body mass (BM, kg), body height (BH, cm), chest circumference (CC, cm), right and left hand muscle strength indices (MS, kg). We defined somatotype affiliation according to the main somatometric parameters: microsomatotype (MiS), mesosomatotype (MeS), and macrosomatotype (MaS).
Results Of the surveyed schoolchildren 19.8% had microsomatic type, 62.1% exhibited mesosomatic type and 18.1% – macrosomatic type. Acceleration and deceleration times of the hand muscle strength growth rates were revealed within the examined age periods. The maximums of these growth rates tended to develop earlier in meso- and macrosomatic type examinees. A dramatic fall in the right and left hand muscle strength gains was observed at the age of 14–15 years in boys, and, a year earlier at the age of 13–14 years in girls of macrosomatic type. The correlation between somatometric and strength indices was found.
Conclusion Our analysis of the age-related hand dynamometry in schoolchildren with different somatotypes suggested an unbalanced increase in strength performance indices depending on the type of physique. The levels of school students’ strength indices proved to be influenced by the body mass and height, which appeared to affect the results of dynamometry. Different somatotype subjects showed maximums of their strength growth rates in different ages, which may have been associated with physiological features of their growth and development.
Introduction. A number of diseases, including craniosynostosis, basal encephaloceles, and fibrous dysplasia, can be accompanied by deformities in the facial skeleton and the skull base. To quantify the degree of pathological deformity and the dynamics of skull bone growth in these patients, data from healthy children’s growth processes is needed. The aim of this study is to describe the normal growth of the main craniometric variables of the facial skeleton and the anterior skull base in healthy children aged 0 to 18 years old, and to create percentile standards for these variables.
Materials and methods. Our study uses cross-sectional retrospective computed tomography (CT) data of the head and face of 1,034 children, aged 0-18 years, who had sustained traumatic brain injuries without damage to the bone structures. Craniometric landmarks used in anthropological and medical craniometry were mapped onto 3D models of patient skull. Twenty linear distances between the landmarks, as well as the volumes of the left orbit and nasal cavity, were calculated. The data were analyzed separately for male and female participants. The RefCurv version 0.4.2 software was used to create percentile reference curves using the LMS method.
Results. The gender and age-related characteristics of the growth dynamics of the various structures of the facial skeleton and anterior base of the skull are characterized. The centile standards for normal variability of the craniometric data are provided for use in medical practice.
Conclusion. This study provides the most comprehensive data on the growth patterns of the facial skeleton and the anterior part of the skull base in healthy children aged between birth and 18 years old. The dimensions of the cribriform plate at birth are close to the adult size and change little during postnatal ontogenesis. The features of the orbital region reach 55-60% of the adult size at birth, grow very rapidly in the first year of life, and by the age of 5 constitute 80-85% of the adult size. The latitudinal dimensions of the facial skeleton, such as the width of the pyriform aperture, the zygomatic and inferior orbital diameters, as well as the sagittal dimensions of the nasal cavity reach about 50-55% of the adult size at birth and then grow uniformly, reaching 65-70% of the definitive value by the second year of life, and, with the exception of the width of the nose, about 80% by the age of 5. The height dimensions of the facial skeleton (the height of the pyriform aperture, face, maxilla, choanae and alveolar process), at birth are only about 40% of the adult size, but then grow rapidly, reaching about 70% of the definitive value by the age of 5. According to the relative sizes of most of the variables, a higher maturity level in girls at the time of birth is revealed, which persists until puberty. A pronounced pubertal acceleration of growth is observed only in boys, based on the following characteristics: the width of the orbit, the length of the medial wall of the orbit, the height of the upper jaw, the height of the nose, the lower length of the nasal septum, the volume of the nasal cavity, and the width of the cribriform plate. Understanding the differences in the developmental dynamics of various skull structures, as well as sex differences in these dynamics and the use of growth standards, is essential for an objective evaluation of the extent of pathological changes to these structures and for planning treatment and monitoring its outcomes.
Introduction. The Center for Physical Anthropology Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology Russian Academy of Sciences conducts the project «Facial Reconstruction of the World War II Soldiers». The anthropologists are interested in the Great Patriotic War, drawing attention to military topics, and getting new reliable information about its participants, both about the heroes who ensured the victory of our country and about the soldiers of the enemy’s army. The three soldiers of Wehrmacht army of the Italian artillery unit who died at Stalingrad were studied. The work was carried out within the framework of the Russian-Italian project "Forgotten Names", initiated by the Chairman of the "Heritage" Fund for Social Projects (Volgograd) Victor Nikolayevich Vasilevsky.
Materials and methods. The remains of three Italian soldiers were obtained. The reconstruction was carried out according to the method of M.M. Gerasimov with the clarifications of his followers.
Results and discussion. The Laboratory of Anthropological Reconstruction has been working for many years to refine the method developed by M.M. Gerasimov. The appearance of three Italian soldiers was restored taking into account the new developments in the area; then verbal portraits of their appearance were compiled. The reconstructions were handed over to Italy, where they will be compared with the photographs in personal files in military archives of those who fought in 1942 on the territory of the Volgograd and Rostov regions.
Introduction. The paper explores the dietary system of a Nogai group from kurgan 3 at the Sukhaya Termista II in the Rostov region, typical nomads who lived in the Sal river basin at the end of the 16th–early 17th centuries. The analysis of the δ13С and δ15N values of bone collagen helped gain a better understanding of possible components of their dietary system and provided the basis for comparing the results obtained and historical and ethnographic data and the data of geochemical analysis.
Materials and methods. This study intends to analyze written records on dietary preferences of nomadic medieval populations left by travelers in the 13th–19th centuries. The study included the analyses of the funerary rite and demographic characteristics as well as the δ13С and δ15N values of bone tissue collagen. To assess the contribution of the dietary intake components from various trophic levels, we used the δ13С and δ15N data on the plants and animals from the medieval period, cereal crops from the Bronze Age, the Early Iron Age and the 19th century as well as modern fish. To verify the studied dietary system, a comparative analysis using isotopic data obtained for individuals from the graves dating to the Mongol Empire period of the 13th–early 14th centuries as well as the populations of China who lived in the Huang He river basin (the Yangshao culture) in the Bronze Age and for whom millet was a staple food was conducted.
Results and discussion. The analysis of the stable nitrogen and carbon isotope composition shows that Nogai infants were breastfed; the dietary components of adult males and females and some children was the same. The comparison of isotopic composition of the core group of the individuals with that of various dietary components reveals that the local Nogais did not consume millet. The comparison with the reference dataset enabled us to determine substantial inter-group differences in the stable nitrogen and carbon isotope composition of the bone tissue of the Nogais and the Mongol elite of the 13th–14th centuries as well as the Yangshao population of the Bronze Age.
Introduction. Anatomical anthropology is a field of study that emerged in the last third of the 19th century to study the variability of human organ structure, considering body type and racial, ethnic, and social affiliation.
The purpose of this study was to review the history of the development of anatomical anthropology with a focus on the stages that led to the formation of the concept of typical and variant anatomy.
Materials and methods. This paper presents an essay on the development of anatomical anthropology. Publications from 1857 to 2024 were reviewed. To assess the place occupied by studies of bone structures, internal organs, and physique in modern Russian journals of anatomical profile, an analysis of 654 articles for 2019-24 was conducted.
Results and discussion. In the early stages of the formation of anthropology as a natural science direction (1860-70s), its connections with normal anatomy were strong. At that time, when studying the variability of the structure of organs and systems in different groups of people, the terms "anatomical anthropology" and "soft tissue anthropology" were adopted.
As sciences evolved in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the variability of the structure of soft tissues became primarily a subject of study for medical anatomists, and anthropology departments were organizationally removed from the medical faculties of universities. Anatomical anthropology has found its place in medical morphology research. The works of V.N. Shevkunenko made it possible to move from the previous unsystematic accumulation of data on the variability of morphological structures to their systematization and analysis based on a single concept of typical and variant anatomy. This direction has been preserved and developed in medical universities in Russia.
Introduction. The study of emotional facial expressions is currently gaining momentum, attracting researchers from diverse scientific disciplines. We suppose that this surge in interest can be attributed, in part, to the rapid advancement of digital technologies, particularly artificial neural networks, which are increasingly capable of recognizing and encoding facial expressions. The power of these technologies to analyze faces and emotional states is widely discussed in the media and popular culture, prompting scientists to approach the topic with both responsibility and maximum caution in judgements.
Results. Important to mention immediately, that in the modern literature on the anatomy of facial expression, there is no consensus on the number and composition of muscles involved in the expression of emotions on the human face. Different authors indicate a different number of muscles involved in emotional facial expressions. Such discrepancies may cause significant confusion, especially for researchers who are not specialists in human anatomy. This article presents an analytical review based on anatomical sources and the Facial Action Coding System (FACS), a leading anatomically validated technique for recognizing and classifying facial expressions. Alongside the anatomy of the muscular system, we explore the characteristics of the related neural structures. To provide readers with a comprehensive understanding of facial communication, we delve into the history of its study and present an evolutionary journey tracing the development of the human face, the emergence, and evolution of facial expressions in phylogeny.
Introduction. In 2023, the 140th anniversary of Dmitry Nikolaevich Anuchin was celebrated. Anuchin's scientific and pedagogical activities are inextricably linked with Moscow University. This article is devoted to the life and scientific activity of this outstanding Russian scientist.
Materials and Methods. Literary sources were used. Analytical and chronological research methods were applied in the study.
Results and Discussion. The material of the article is presented in sections: “Work in OLEAE[1]”, “Scientific Activity”, “Pedagogical Activity”, “Educational Activity” and “Organizational Activity”. Anuchin has made significant contributions to anthropology, ethnology, geography and archaeology, and has written more than 600 scientific papers, including reviews and overviews. He actively participated in the work of the Society of Lovers of Natural Science, Anthropology and Ethnography (OLEAE), he
held the positions of secretary and president in different years. His reports were important sources of information, especially concerning Japan in the context of the Russian-Japanese war. As a teacher, Anuchin founded the Departments of Anthropology and Geography at Moscow University and developed new training courses. This contributed to the reform of the teaching of geography and anthropology in Russia. Anuchin's educational activities were expressed not only in publishing articles in popular publications, but also in financing the opening of libraries in his parents' native villages. These libraries have become cultural centers for local residents. Anuchin organized the creation of new scientific journals: "Earth Science" and «Russian Anthropological Journal». He also created an Anthropological and Geographical Museum in Moscow. After the October Revolution, he continued his active work in scientific communities, and initiated the creation of the Institute of Anthropology and the Institute of Geography.
