New Data on The Anthropology of The Medieval Population of The City of Polotsk

The article presents the results of the study of the materials of two medieval necropolises identified in 2014 and 2019-21 on the territory of the Upper and Lower Castles in Polotsk. It is established that the medieval population of Polotsk in 11-14th centuries differed from the chronologically close rural population of the Polotsk land by a complex of features characterizing the structural features of the facial skeleton. These differences may be a consequence of the participation of an immigrant component in the formation of the anthropological composition of the medieval population of Polotsk. In the group of the population of the 11-13th centuries the body length of men averaged 171.6 cm, the body length of women -159.1 cm. In the latter group of the population from the 13-14th centuries there was a tendency to decrease body length: men became shorter by about 2 cm, women -by 3 cm. In the course of palaeodemographic analysis it was established that the life expectancy of the population of Polotsk in the 13-14th centuries decreased in comparison with the earlier period. Among the most frequent pathologies in the studied group of medieval Polotsk inhabitants of the 11-14th centuries are diseases of the dento-mandibular system (enamel microtraumas, periodontopathies, caries, jaw abscesses), as well as pathologies of the spine (spondylosis, Schmorl's nodes). Both the male and female population of Polotsk were equally exposed to these pathologies. Traumatic cranial injuries are rare, and no traces of the use of cold or throwing weapons have been recorded. There are no sex differences in the frequency of physiological stress markers (porotic hyperostosis, enamel hypoplasia) in male and female samples. According to the results of isotopic analysis, the basis of the medieval Polochans' diet was mainly plant-based food (vegetables, berries, porridge and porridge from grain and legumes). Judging by the similar nitrogen isotope composition of the skeletons, it is safe to assume that there was no discrimination in the diet of women and children.