Szilágyi Miklós (szerk.): A Szekszárdi Béri Balogh Ádám Múzeum Évkönyve 10-11. (Szekszárd, 1982)

Éry Kinga: The osteological remains of a Turkish period Balkan Population in the vicinaty of Dombóvár

Taxonomically the population shows recognizable features as follows: 1 percent Mongoloid, 19 percent Mediterranoid and 80 per cent Dinaroid. Alpine and Cromagnoid element are present as well in the Dinaroid skulls. Among the classical Dinaric features, there is a prominent glabella, a strongly sloped forehead, and in some of the skulls the depressed lambdoidal region or planoccipitalia; as regards the great femoral head, the long lower limbs, the high linea aspera, i. e. the tall stature. Among the Alpine features there is a slightly curvoccipital occiput and broader face and nose. Perhaps it is also an Alpine characteristic that men's sexual features appear relatively late on the skeleton. At t

he same time it is to be noted that the facial skeleton of the population shows a broader aspect than is usually expected from the Alpine race; their chamaeconch orbits and laterally directed angle of the mandible cannot be traced back to the Dinaric and Alpine race. These aspests may be explained by referring to the presence of the Cromagnoid (B) race. Macroscopically relatively manifold diseases could be noted on the osteological material. Among them are battle wounds, healed fractures, osteophytas, joint changes, exostoses, osteomas, tumors, inflammatory changes, changes originating from the disease of haematogenesis, various damages of unknown origin and decaying teeth. Developmental anomalies are especially manifold, and these occurred first of all on the vertebral column. It is noteworthy that contrary to published data in the literature, spondylolisthesis occurred more frequently in women than in men. Developmental anomalies appear to have become more frequent in the succesive generations; however, their frequency is not significant. It is hard to compare the population of Dombóvár - Békató with other anthropological series of the late Middle Ages as the published material of such finds is scarcely available. However, testing these possibilities, we found that on the basis of the Penrose - Distance, great similarity is noticeable only with the finds of Zombor - Repülőtér; this similarity appears in the burial rites as well as in the finds themselves. It may be assumed that both series could have originated from a similar ethnic environment. Some similarity could also be found between the series of men of Dombóvár - Békató and those of Fonyód - Vár from the 13th - 16th centuries which may be explained by the fact that there could have been previous immigrants from the Balkans among the Hungarian defenders of the fortress of Fonyód. Even if today there are still insufficient finds to prove how much anthropological difference or similarity existed between the population of Dombóvár-Békató and the contemporary basic population of Hungary, it may be said, however, that they cannot be placed together with the present-day Hungarian people, at least not in the regions of the country where research has been thoroughly carried out. Namely, according to the examinations of GY. HENKEY on 15 thousand inhabitants of 60 Central - Hungarian villages, the Dinaroid individuals consist of only 5.7 per cent of the villages populated by Hungarians; this value does not amount to lOpercent, evenif supplemented by the Alpine and Cromagnoid elements. As regard Rumania, or the various populations of the Balkans, no publications are known about osteological series originating from the late Middle Ages apart from a few Rumanian data. The series of Oltenia and Wallachia, however, with their narrower, longer, mesocran skulls are entirely different from those of Dombóvár-Békató. On the other hand, abundant data are at our disposal about the present - day population of the Balkan Peninsula. After having studied them in connection with Dombóvár-Békató the following statement may be made: a) the Vlach (Aromun, Tzintzar) and Karakatchan ethnic groups living in various regions of the Balkans today have longer and narrower skulls, and a shorter stature, so they do not form a parallel with the „Iflaks" of Dombóvár - Békató; b) at the same time, however, the specific Dinaroid group of features of the Dombóvár- Békató population may be found in the middle of the Balkans in a well cirsumscribed territory: in NW-Greece, in Albania and in the mountains of Montenegro in Yugoslavia. The homeland of the studied ethnic group may have been somewhere in these parts. It must be emphasized, however, that it is exceedingly risky to establish a connection between ethnic groups on the basis of present day data compared with those obtained 300-400 years ago. Thus a solution to the problem of their origin may be found only when data will be published about the population living in these territories during the late Middle Ages. 251