Matskási István (szerk.): A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum évkönyve 97. (Budapest 2005)

Évinger, S. ; Bernert, Zs.: Anthropological investigation of the Avar Period cemetery of Kaposvár Road 61, Site No. 26 (Hungary)

ANNALES HISTORICO-NATURALES MUSEI NATIONALIS HUNGARICI Volume 97 Budapest, 2005 pp. 261-319. Anthropological investigation of the Avar Period cemetery of Kaposvár Road 61, Site No. 26 (Hungary) S. EVINGER & Zs. BERNÉRT Department of Anthropology, Hungarian National History Museum H-W83 Budapest, Ludovika tér 2. Hungary. E-mail: bernert@ant.nhmus.hu Abstract - Anthropological remains of 254 individuals dug up from the 285 graves of the Avar Period cemetery of Kaposvár Road 61, Site No. 26. were examined. A general anthropological characterization of the series, secondary taxonomical analysis are given. By the skulls this population was long headed, with medium high and high skulls (dolichokran, orthokran, akrokran). The forehead was medium wide (metriometop). Their cranial capacitiy was medium large-large (euenkephal, aristenkephal) because of their long, high skulls. Face and upper face were medium wide (mesen, mesoprosop), while the shape of nose and orbita were very variable. Ovoid was the most frequent cranial shape, napes were mostly arched. The average stature of women was 157.9 cm, that of men was 169.8 cm. Taxonomically the skulls could be deduced from the mix up of three long brain-cased, Europid races. Elements of the Nordic, the Cromagnoid, and the Mediterranean races were mixed in them presumably for several generations. "Clear" types occurred only in sporadic cases. The origins of those short brain-cased features could not be identified, which presented themselves in this otherwise expressly unified taxonomical image. With 15 figures and 13 tables. Keywords-Physical anthropology, human skeletal remains, anthropological characterization, Avar Period, Hungary. INTRODUCTION The data obtained by classical anthropological analysis of the skeletal material of an Avar Period population is published hereby, to widen our knowledge on the Carpathian Basin's Migration Period populations. The 254 individuals examined made up only a fragment of the former population. However, this sample was sufficiently large to draw up an authentic picture of the anthropological aspects of this Avar Period population.