Dr. T. Tóth szerk.: Studia historico-anthropologica (Anthropologia Hungarica 19. Budapest, 1986)
In the comparative anthropological evaluation of the find-groups from the Avar and Arpadian ages some new statistic methods have been introduced (BOTTYÁN 1966, 1967; DEZSŐ 1966; ÉRY 1970, 1983; FERENCZ 1980-1981, 1982-1983; PAP 1978-1979a, b, 1980-1981; TÓTH 1972, 1973; WENGER 1978- 1979). We have to note that with reference to the early periods and possible area of our people's ethnogenesis significant additional information was furnished by the comparative somatologic, dermatoglyphic and odontologie studies, all of which are parts of the ethnical anthropology (TÓTH 1974, 1979, 1980-1981, 1981, 1982b). In the craniomorphologic analysis on an Avar-period population special attention was given to the shov el- shapedness (DEZSŐ 19 68). A comprehensive survey has been prepared about the dental caries of prehistoric populations which lived Ln the Central Danubian basin (SCHRANZ & HUSZÁR 1962). Beside this work an important stomatologic synthesis has been elaborated about the abrasion of the teeth including the data from skeletalized populations (HUSZÁR 1976). Paleopathology (DERUMS 1978; ORTNER & PUTSCHAR 1981; ROKHLIN 1965; SJÖVALL 1939; STEINBOCK 1976) developed in the last three decades (especially in the literature abroad) as one of the disciplinary components of paleoanthropology. On the basis of a rich collection originating from the territory of Hungary, the hygienic condition of four Arpadianage populations was studied (NEMESKÉRI & HARSÁNYI 1959) and by the use of some finds from the past millennia a system of different pathologic lesions could be elaborated (BARTUCZ 1966, REGÖLY-MÉREI 1962). Special attention was given to the frequency of some discontinuous craniomorphologic character-variants or anomalies (FARKAS 1974, FARKAS and MARCSIK 1975, WENGER 1974a, b). The paleopathology investigation of Avar-age populations from the Danube-Tisza interfluvial (MARCSIK 1978, 1983), has been finished only recently, as one of the first syntheses to obtain an academic candidate's degree. Paleosomatologic studies, started in the near past, had as their subject not only the determination of stature from skelital populations, but the reconstruction of the body weight, too; in this way additional information could be obtained about their over- to undernourished state, their past biological constitition as well as the past economico-environmental conditions (LOTTERHOF 1976, 1977, 1978; PAP 1982, 1982- 1983a, b, 1983, 1984; TÓTH 1984, 1985). As an immediate preliminary, all of the above-mentioned Hungarian investigations had the use of the wideranging osteome;ric working-programme of the postcranial skeletal parts for the evaluation of some somatoriorphologic (constitutional) peculiarities of two South Transdanubian Avarage populations (TAJTI & TÓTH 1976- 1977). All of theJe paleopathology, paleoserology and paleosomatologic aspects discussed above contributes to the disciplinary enrichment and further development of paleoanthropology (and in general to that of classical anthropology) by the many-sided analyses of the postcranial parts cf human skeletons. The investigations carried out in Hungary seem to have contributed si[nificantly to the results of universal paleoanthropology, to the increase of the interdiscipliniry effectiveness of anthropology. Note. This paper was presented on 1 April 1985 at the scientific meeting held on the occasion of Pro*. I •• Bartucz's Birth-day Centennary at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. REFERENCES V ACSÁDI, jy. & NEMESKÉRI, J. (1970): History of human life span and mortality. - Akadériiai Kiadó, Budapest, 356 pp. BARTUCZ, L. (1961): Anthropologische Beiträge zur I. and II. Periode der Sarmatenzeit in U:garn. - Acta Archaeol. Hung., 13: 157-229. BARTUCZ, L. (1966): A praehistoricus trepanáció és orvostörténeti vonatkozású sirleletek Palaeopathologia III. kötet) (Die prähistorische Trepanation, Funde mit medizinischlistorischen und paläopathologischen Beziehungen in Ungarn (Paläopathologie, Band III)). Országos Orvostörténeti Könyvtár és Medicina Kiadó, Budapest, 612 pp. BOT'YÁN, O. (1966): Data to the Avar Period population of Budapest. - Anthrop. hung., 7: 3-33. BOLYÁN, O. (1967): Data to the anthropology of the Hun Period population in Hungary. Annls hist.-nat. Mus. natn. hung., 59:455-464,
