The Composition of the Population Buried at the Scythian Age Cemetery Near Svitlovodsk City (According to Craniology)

The anthropological composition of the population buried at the cemetery of the Scythian Age near Svitlovodsk city (Kirovograd region) is analyzed in the paper. The burial ground is located on the border of the Forest-Steppe and Steppe Zones of the Right Bank of the Dnieper. The anthropological material under study comes from cemetery without mounds. Archaeologists date the main massif of burials to the 4th century BC. The anthropological composition of the population that was buried at this burial ground was not homogenous. The male series of skulls is characterized by a long, medium-wide, high, dolichocranic skull. The face is of medium size, it is mesognathic. The horizontal profile of the face at the upper level is medium, but with a tendency to the sharp; at the middle level, the face is strongly profiled. The orbital and nasal indexes are medium. The bones of the nose are moderately protruding. The average characteristics of the male population fit into the range of variations of the Scythian series. The male series belongs morphologically and statistically to the circle of the steppe Scythian groups. The male group from the burial ground near the city of Svitlovodsk is close to the series from the Nikolaevka burial ground on the Dnister River, the group of skulls from the burial mounds near the village of Shirokoe (Left Bank of the Dnieper River), the group of skulls from the burial mounds near the village of Vyshchetarassivka, a series of skulls from the Mykhailivka burial ground. Of the forest-steppe series, only the combined group of skulls from the Trypillya region is somewhat close to it. All these statistically and morphologically similar groups originate from different territories. This illustrates the specifics of the settlement and demonstrates the mobility of the Scythian groups. The female series from the burial ground is characterized by a long, narrow, medium-high skull, mesocranic in shape. The size of the face is small, it is mesognathic. The horizontal profile of the face at the upper level is moderate, at the zygomaxilar level it belongs to the category of sharp, but with a tendency to moderate. The orbital index is medium, the nasal index belongs to the large category. The bones of the nose are medium protruding. The female series from Svitlovodsk burial ground turns out to be the most gracile among the Scythian series in Ukraine. For this reason, it differs significantly from the entire massif of the steppe Scythian series. The closest to the Svitlovodsk series is a group from mounds near Nikopol.