Dr. T. Tóth szerk.: Studia historico-anthropologica (Anthropologia Hungarica 21. Budapest, 1990)

ANTHROPOLOGIA HUNGARICA XXI. - 1990 p. 33-53 Anthropological studies on an early Avar period population at Backo Petrovo Selo (Yugoslavia) Part 2: Analysis of the data by K. ERY (Received June 24,1990) Abstract. The present study gives a short analysis of an Avar age population from the turn of the 6th/7th centuries. With 12 tables and 8 plates. MATERIAL AND METHODS The Archaeological Department of the University of Beograd has completely unearthed, under the leadership of Prof. Jovan KOVACEVIŐ, a cemetery from the early Avar period at Backo Petrovo Selo (Péterréve, Vojvodina), on the banks of Csík-ér. The bone remains of 100 individuals could be preserved from the 137 graves. The garchaeological and anthropological finds of the cemetery were deposited in the collection of the Municipal Museum and Gallery of Becej. The skeletal measurements of the adults have been published in the previous volume of Anthropologia hungarica (ERY 1988). This paper gives a short analysis of the data. Age determination was made according to the 'Recommendations' by FEREMBACH & al. (1979). 22 features were used for sex definition according to the ÉRY, KRALOVÁNSZKY & NEMESKÉRI (1963) method. The analyses were based on the mean sigmas and class-categories by ALEKSEEV & DEBETS (1964). Distance analysis was made by the PENROSE (1954) method using ten measurements of the skull (MARTIN 1, 8, 9, 17, 40, 45, 48, 51, 52, 54) and then standardized according to THOMA's mean sigmas (1978). AGE AND SEX FEATURES The basic age and sex data of the individuals can be read from Table 1. Their distribution according to age groups and sex is given in Table 2, while 22 sexual features of males and females are listed in Table 3. In the light of the above data the sample can be characterized in the following: a/ The number of 0-year-old individuals is disproportionally low among the unearthed skeletons (3%). It means that the graves of the deceased infants were either destroyed, or they were not buried