Origin and historical significance of artificial cranial deformations found in Samtavro cemeteryin the Early Middle Ages.

Abstract

1.6.1.2.10. Origin and historical significance of artificial cranial deformations found in Samtavro cemetery in the Early Middle Ages. /N. Tavartkiladze/. West Caucasus - Archaeological Context. – 2020. – #1. – pp. 94- 116. – geo.; abs.: geo., eng., rus.

The work is based on the research of normally and artificially deformed skulls of the Samtavro Cemetery, dating back to the period the Early Middle Ages. The skulls are now located in the anthropological research laboratory of the Ivane Javakhisvili Institute of History and Ethnology. Apart from the skulls themselves, the craniological catalogue, located in the same institute, as well as individual blank of each of the skulls was used for the research. Archaeological diary from the Georgian National Museum has also been used for the research, through which, information about the cemetery types, burial rites and artifacts was acquired. The work analyzes the types of cranial deformations, the sexual and age structures of the buried, markers of the physiological stress and anomaly frequencies in the population of this period. The inventory is also distributed between those with deformations and those without them, in order to analyze if the deformations implied being part of the elite parts of the society. There are tables distributing information about those with deformed and non-deformed skulls, based on their gender and age, which gives a clear picture of the lifespan of those with and without skull deformations. For the purpose of understanding underlying reasons for the skull deformation, historical sources have been analyzed and the reasons summarized in order to determine why the artificial deformation took place among those living in Mtskheta territory. Fig. 7, Tab. 7, Ref. 28.

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