Matskási István (szerk.): A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum évkönyve 95. (Budapest 2003)

Évinger, S.: Paleostomatological investigation of the anthropological findings from the Avar period cemeteries of Toponár and Fészerlak

10—12th century), and found differences between them. A possible reason for this result was a change in the way of life after the Hungarian Conquest. In this study, we have examined the anthropological findings of two cemeteries from the late Avar period (Toponár and Fészerlak, Hungary) from the aspect of dental health. Inhabitants of the two cemeteries were anthropologically similar to each other (FÓTHI 1988, 1989, 1991) and they shared the same culture, but they presumably belonged to different social classes in the Avar society. According to the grave-goods, Fészerlak was a cemetery for the common people and Toponár was a burial ground mainly for those who belonged to the higher ranks in this system. Our main goal was to determine the level of dental health in both populations. With these data, we made an attempt to give information about the nutritional habits and - in certain regards - the living conditions of these people. We compared the two groups to find out if there were any differences in the examined paleostomatological characters (and in the way of life or in the way of nutrition) between the two socially different populations. MATERIALS AND METHODS Materials At the sandpit of the State Farm of Santos, which is lying 7 km east from Kaposvár (Somogy county, Hungary) near the "Toponár No. 40" railway guardhouse, human bones were found during soil-exploitation works. Excavations were carried out between 1968 and 1970 under the guidance of EUGÉNIA SZIMONOVA and ISTVÁN ERDÉLYI. The unearthed graves date from the 8th century. According to the archeological findings, the cemetery was generally the resting place of the people who belonged to the higher ranks in the Avar society (SZIMONOVA 1997). During the excavation, the skeletal remains of 150 individuals were brought to light. They are stored in the Department of Anthropology of the Hungarian Natural History Museum under the inventory numbers 68.151.1. 68.151.46., 71.2.1. -71.2.101., 83.3.1. and-in the case of two individuals without stock-taking-under the score A 311-4. The estimation of age at the time of death and morphological sex of the 150 individuals was carried out by WENGER (1974). For paleostomatological investigation, the skeletal remnants of 70 people were suitable. In the case of 13 skulls, we were not able to do the recording of abrasion and carious lesions, because their lower and upper teeth were glued with each other in order to fix the mandibles. In 1969 several archeological and anthropological findings were discovered during agricultural work at Fészerlak-puszta located 1.5 km of "Toponár No. 40" railway guardhouse (Fig. 1 ). Excavations were carried out between 1970 and 1982 under the control of EUGÉNIA SZIMONOVA. The 224 exposed graves contained the skeletal remains of 218 individuals. By right of the grave-goods, most of them originate from the 8th century, but some of the graves date back to the beginning of the 9th century and to the end of the 7th century. SZIMONOVA believes that the cemetery was a burial place of the common people of the Avar society. The skeletal remains are deposited in the Department of Anthropology of the Hungarian Natural History Museum under the inventory numbers