A Debreceni Déri Múzeum Évkönyve 1975 (Debrecen, 1976)

Természettudomány - Szathmáry László–Nemeskéri János: Examination of Skeletal Finds of the Neolithic (Eneolithic) and Copper Age in Déri Museum, Debrecen

László Szathmáry-János Nemeskéri EXAMINATION OF SKELETAL FINDS OF THE NEOLITHIC (ENEOLITHIC) AND COPPER AGE IN DÉRI MUSEUM, DEBRECEN 1. The Déri Museum, Debrecen, preserves anthropological finds of 23 persons from 5 sites, dated from the neolithic (eneolithic) and the Copper Age. 2. The distribution of the 23 examined finds according to provenance, sex and age is shown on Table 24. 3. The conclusions to be drawn from the results of the examination are limited by the small number of finds and their state of conservation. The present paper is therefore not aimed at an extensive comparison but at supplying proper informations for a subsequent synthetizing evaluation. Within the limits of due circumspection the following statements can be made on the examined populations belonging to the neolithic (eneolithic) and Copper Age. 4. The only examined (female) skeleton of the neolithic burial-ground of Zsáka presents most :robust features. 5. The dolichomorphous character of the Nyulas population belonging to the eneolithic-copper age is of decisive importance. While hyperdolichocrania is representative of the women, a cranial form ranging from hyperdolichocrania to mesocrania is characteristic of the men. There is an obvious dimorphism between the two sexes due to the distinctly robust skulls and skeletal bones of men and the gracility of female skulls and bones. The population may be ranged taxonomically among the mediterranean variánst, with a robust and a gracile component to be distinguished. Due to the taxonomical distribution of the finds an ethnical relationship with the population of Tiszapolgár-Basatanya may be supposed. This hypothesis is supported by the similar culture of the population and the comparable geographic features of the agglomeration. 6. The cranial find of Berettyóújfalu is a special case. The dolichocraneous shape as well as the robust and archaical morphological marks range it within the mediterranean type next to the proto-mediterranean variant. 7. Due to its homogeneity the Konyár population belonging to the Bodrogkeresztur civilization of the Copper Age represents a rather closed population, unlike the Hajdúszoboszló population which represents a rather wide variation and may thus be supposed to have had a more open structure. In terms of taxonomy the Konyár population may stand next to the gracile variant of the mediterranean type, whereas the Hajdúszoboszló population, although being presumably in many respect identical with the Konyár population, may be nearer to the atlanto-mediterranean variant of the same type. There was obviously a difference in the genetical structure of the two populations. 159'