Children and Young Adults from the Early Sarmatian Burials of the Lower Volga Region (Paleopathological Perspective)

• Main Authors: Evgeniy V. Pererva, Valentina Yu. Chistobaeva
• Format: Article
• Language: Russian
• Published: Volgograd State University 2018-04-01
• Series: Vestnik Volgogradskogo Gosudarstvennogo Universiteta. Seriâ 4. Istoriâ, Regionovedenie, Meždunarodnye Otnošeniâ
• Subjects: the Sarmatians; Early Iron Age; bioarchaeology; paleopathology; children; young adults; scurvy; anemia; dental diseases
• Online Access: http://hfrir.jvolsu.com/index.php/en/component/attachments/download/1644

This paper presents the results of a study of bone remains of impuberal individuals from the Early Sarmatian burial mounds located in the Lower Volga region. When working with bone remains, we analyzed frequency of occurrence of various stress indicators and other abnormalities, taking into account biological age of the individuals buried there. The comparison of paleopathology results with the data from archaeological and ethnographic written sources made it possible to assess some aspects of the life of the early Sarmatian population. Thus, the number of children and adolescents in the early Sarmatian burials corresponds to the established paleodemographic standards proving the normal demographic situation in the paleopopulation. Reconstruction of nutrition patterns allows us to assert that breastfeeding in early Sarmatians was long. Meat and dairy products were the basis of the diet of both older children and adults. In the life of the population, there must have been occasional famine periods, for instance, due to livestock loss. The nomads’ diet was limited to meat and milk products, did not provide proper nutrition and caused numerous diseases such as scurvy and porosis. Paleopathology data demonstrate the spread of helminthiases and various infections in the Sarmatians.