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DERMATOGLYPHICS OF ABKHAZO-ADYGHEAN PEOPLES OF
THE CAUCASUS
Heet Henriette
Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
Populations of Caucasus are dermatogyphically distinct, being generally intermediate between those of Western Asia and Europe (Heet, 1976; Heet, Dolinova, 2002). Previous data on Abkhazo-Adyghean groups are scarce. In this report, dermatoglyphic data on 51 groups of Caucasus, totaling about 10200 males, are analyzed. The sample includes eight Abkhazo-Adyghean populations (about 2400 males): Abkhazians (495), Abazins (217), Abadzekhs (125), Bzhedugs (348), Shapsugs (240), Chemguis (193), Cherkess (166), and Kabardins (645). Two multidimensional analyses were conducted using a set of key diagnostic traits. Generally, the Abkhazo-Adyghean samples are similar and homogeneous. The mean Generalized Dermatoglyphic Distance (GDD) equals 8.4, which is nearly twice less than that between groups of the entire Caucasus. Among the speakers of Caucasian languages, Abkhazo-Adygheans are closest to Kartvelians and Iranians (GDD ranges within 6.1-6.3) and somewhat less similar to the Turkic-speaking groups except Nogais and to Dagestanians (7.1-7.4), being furthest from the Nakh-speaking people. The South Caucasoid Complex is lower in Abkhazo-Adyghean and Kartvelian speakers (58.0 and 58.7, respectively) than in Turks (61.0), Dagestanians (62.3), Armenians (62.7), and Iranians (62.9). Two significant principal components differentiate Northern and Southern Caucasoids. All Abkhazo-Adyghean groups except Cherkess are included in the larger cluster (2/3 of the samples), occupying a central position there. The Bzhedugs and Shapsugs show the "southernmost" characteristics, Abkhazians, Abazins, Kabardins, Abadzekhs and Chemguis being the "northernmost". Cherkess group take a central position in the second cluster. Results of the study are discussed in the context of the population history of Caucasus.
Key words: dermatoglyphics, Caucasus, Abhazo-Adygean peoples
Contact information: Heet Henriette, e-mail: heet@bk.ru.
PALEODEMOGRAPHY OF THE 10TH—13TH-CENTURY POPULATIONS
IN THE TISZANTUL (HUNGARY)
Janos Istvan1, Szathmary Laszlo2
11nstitute of Environmental Science, College of Nyiregyha%a, Nyiregyha%a, Hungary
2Department of Evolutionary Zoology and Human Biology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of
Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
Result of craniological studies suggests that the structure of populations living in the Great Hungarian Plain (Hungary) might have changed considerably between the Age of the Hungarian Conquest (10th century) and the Arpadian Age (11th-13th century). This conclusion follows from the analysis of skeletons from cemeteries dating both to the Age of the Hungarian Conquest and to the Arpadian Age. Given the above result, the basic aim of this study was to perform comparative paleodemographic analysis of representative 10th and 11th-13th-century skeletal populations excavated from cemeteries in the Tiszantul region, the eastern part of the Great Hungarian Plain. The samples were separated into two groups according to archaeological periods (the Age of the Hungarian Conquest and the Arpadian Age). It was found that the 10th-century populations showed greater variation in mortality parameters. By contrast, the Arpadian Age populations, especially those dating to the 11th century showed a much more homogeneous demographic profile. Among the 11th-century populations, much lesser variation could be detected than among the 10th-century samples. It is possible that 10th-century populations composed of various ethnic groups of different origin settled in the Carpathian basin according to their former environment. This might have caused territorial isolation
Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Series 23 ANTHROPOLOGIYA — 3/2014
19th Congress of the European Anthropological Association Lomonosov MSU, Moscow, Russia, 25th - 29th August, 2014
and was followed by anatomical and demographic distinctions. However, in the 11th century, differences between groups became much smaller, possibly due to the political activities of King Saint Stephen, which resulted in a more homogeneous population.
Key words: paleodemography, skeletal populations, Great Hungarian Plain, Tiszantul region, age of Hungarian Conquest, Arpadian Age
Contact information: Janos Istvan, e-mail: janosi2@zeus.nyf.hu.
FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ONSET OF MOTHERHOOD IN POLAND
Kaczmarek Maria
Department of Human Biological Development, Institute of Anthropology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz
University in Poznan, Poland
Factors of lifestyle and social behaviour were examined in relation to the age at first childbirth given by Polish women. In a sample of 1924 parous women aged 35-45 years at the time of examination, crude associations between maternal age at first birth and selected covariates including place of residence, educational attainment, employment status, financial strain, physical activity, cigarette smoking, alcohol use and weight status were evaluated. The bivariate relations were then adjusted to marital status and use of oral contraceptives (OCU).The study revealed key sets of social predictor variables for maternal first birth age in Poland. The large city residents with higher educational level, currently employed and without financial strain, non-smoking cigarettes and non-drinking alcohol, participating in physical exercises and maintaining proper weight and oral contraceptive users were more likely to delay their first childbirth over the median age of 23 years, than their counterparts. The most important predictors of the maternal first birth age included: educational attainment (F=19.8; p<0.001), place of residence (F=4.2 p<0.021), employment status (F=3.7; p=0.026), tobacco use (F=5.0; p=0.007), and use of oral contraceptives (F=3.6; p=0.033), they explained 15% of the total variance in the maternal first birth age. The probability of delivering first child at more advanced age was almost two times higher for the large-city residents than for their rural counterparts (OR=1.58); five times higher for women with better educational qualifications as compared to primarily educated peers (OR=5.24). Currently employed women were 1.5 times more likely to be primiparous at a more advanced age than the unemployed counterparts (OR=1.5). Current smokers were 1.3 times less likely than their peers who had never smoked to deliver a child at an older age (OR=0.75). The OC users were 1.5 times more likely to delay childbirth than never OCU counterparts. The study results confirmed the importance of women's educational level in undertaking decision about motherhood.
Key words: maternal age at first childbirth, social status, lifestyle behaviour
Contact information: Kaczmarek Maria, e-mail: makac@amu.edu.pl.
19 Конгресс Европейской Антропологической Ассоциации МГУ имени М.В.Ломоносова, Москва, 25-29 августа, 2014
Вестник Московского университета. Серия XXIII АНТРОПОЛОГИЯ — 3/2014
