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

SUMMARY The mounted nomadic population appearing on the southern edge of the central plain of the Carpathian Basin around 570 AD., must have been a descendant of the Sauromatian-Sarmatian population of the West Kazakhstan! steppe. According to the archaeological finds they used their cemetery until 630, i.e. for two or three generations. Men and women had similar appearances. Most of them belonged to the Europoid great race with long or medium long and low skulls, with low and broad faces, with protruding noses, with medium, sometimes high statures. Their health status was satisfactory. A greater mortality rate could be established for young women, probably due to perinatal complications. The most frequent anomaly is the spondylolysis on the lumbar vertebrae in this population, possibly as a result of an equestrian way of life. The total of the anthropological features of the Backo Petrovo Selo population is different not only from the contemporary population of the Carpathian Basin of the 6th to 7th centuries, but also from that of the population of the 8th to 9th centuries. Consequently it may be supposed, that populations of similar features, which came to the Carpathian Basin during the Avar period, did not represent great masses. Acknowledgement. I wish to express my sincere thanks to Ms Katalin SIMÁN for translating the text and to Mr Levente SZEPSI-SZÜCS for making the photos.