On the Diagnostic Significance of Morphological Characters. I I . (A Methodological Study)

By T. T Ó T H , Budapest

As was pointed out in an earlier paper (TÓTH, 1967), the diagnostic significance of certain morphological characters cannot be disregarded in the analysis of osteo-logical series deriving from the area of the Central Hanubian Basin. Some character­istics have already been investigated (TÓTH, 1958, 1963, 1967) ; in the present paper we propose to discuss the diagnostic significance of the os malare.

This important morphological section of the facial skeleton was first analysed from an anthropological point of view by Miss T I N G L I A N G Woo three decades ago, pubHshing the morphometric values in 1937, but having, however, already reported the results of her studies to the First International Anthropological and Ethnographic Congress in London in 1934, by the title "Racial differences in Man estimated from measurements of the malar bones" (COMAS, 1956). The present author studied in the years 1961—1967 the morphometric characters of the os malare on 27 male and 27 female series (a total of 552 skulls for both sexes) deriving from various archeo-logical periods. Previously, however, investigations were restricted to merely the Hegykő and Bágyog findings in the Transdanubia (TÓTH, 1964).

In the followings, the os malare values of the male group of 24 further series are submitted (Table I ) , viz. :

1. The male group (5 skulls) of the aeneolithic period i n the Central Danubian Basin, already studied by the author w i t h reference to another methodological aspect (TÓTH, 1958) . The respective findings (Alsónémedi, Budapest, Palotabozsok) are deposited i n the Anthropological Department of the Hungarian Natura l His tory Museum, Budapest.

2. The Middle Bronze Age material (2 male skulls) from Tiszafüred i n the Middle Tisza region; the findings are deposited in the Anthropological Department.

3. The Bronze Age series (10 male skulls) originating from the Sea of Azov region, deposited i n the collection of the Chair of Anthropology of the Universi ty of Moscow, studied there by the author in 1961.

4. The Ear ly I r o n Age remains of 19 males (Saka Period) from the Eastern Pamir region, examined by the author i n 1965 in the Archeological Inst i tute of the Tadzhik Academy of Sciences, Dusanbe.

5. The findings (6 males) of the Scythian Period originating from Szabadszál lás in the region between the Danube and the Tisza recently examined by D E Z S Ő ( 1 9 6 6 ) ; the remains are deposited i n the Anthropological Department.

6. The male series (6 skulls) of the Late Roman Period deriving from the SE Trans­danubia, recently studied by W E N G E R (1967) . The findings are preserved in the Janus Pannonius Museum, Pécs .

7. The quantitatively significant series ( 33 males) of the Late Roman Period from Gorsiurn, deposited i n the K i n g Stephan Museum, Székesfehérvár.

8. The Late Roman Period findings (9 males) from Mursella i n the Transdanubia, deposited in the Janos Xantus Museum, Győr.

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9. The Late Roman Period findings (9 males) from Quadrata, deposited also i n the above Museum i n Győr.

10. The Late Roman Period findings (4 males) from Savaria, preserved in the Savaria Museum, Szombathely.

11. The Late Roman Period findings (2 males) from Scarabantia, deposited i n the Anthropological Department.

12. The Late Roman Period findings (3 males) from Somogyszil i n the S Transda­nubia, preserved i n the Anthropological Department.

13. The Ear ly Medieval findings (14 males) from Sahristan I I . (the TJsrushana state) i n the W . Ferghana region, studied by the author in 1965, in the Archeologieal Inst i tute of the Tadzhik Academy of Sciences, Dusanbe.

14. The Avar Period findings (4 males) from the site of the People's Stadium, Buda­pest, * already studied by the author in another methodological respect ( T Ó T H , 1963). The remains are deposited i n the Anthropological Department.

15. The Avar Period findings (4 males) from Kiskőrös-Vágóhíd*, recently studied by the author i n another methodological respect ( T Ó T H , 1963). The remains are deposited i n the Anthropological Department.

16. The Avar Period findings (11 males) from Előszállás, i n the Transdanubia, inves­tigated i n another respect by W E N G E R (1966) and the present author ( T Ó T H , 1963).

17. The Avar Period remains (8 males) from Keszthely in the Transdanubia, depos­ited in the Anthropological Department.

18. The Avar Period findings (11 males) from K ö r n y e i n the Transdanubia, recently analysed in details by the present author ( T Ó T H , 1967). The remains are preserved in the Anthropological Department.

19. Avar Period findings (10 males) from Budapest — Wekerletelep, deposited in the Anthropological Department.

20. The findings (9 males) of the Magyar Conquest era from the I lona-ú t , Üllő**, deposited in the Anthropological Department. The remains have already been studied by the author in another methodological aspect ( T Ó T H , 1958).

21. The Á r p á d Age findings (15 males) from Veszprém, Central Transdanubia, already examined i n details by N E M E S K É R I (1957). The collection is in the Anthropological Department.

22. The recent findings of the Hevsur ethnic group (17 males) from Gruzia, recently published by A B D U S E L I S V I L I (1964, 1966), and also examined by the present author in 1965, i n the Anthropological Department of the Experimental and Morphological Inst i tute of the Gruzian Academy of Sciences, Tbil is i .

23. The findings of the eastern Ugor H a n t i ethnic group (16 males) from the Middle Ob area, analysed by L I P T Á K i n 1950. The remains are deposited in the Anthropological Department.

24. A craniological series from the area of the Astrolabe Bay, probably deriving from a Papuan group, collected by F E N I C H E L and B Í R Ó at the end of the last century ( B Í R Ó , 1899, 1901; B O D R O G I , 1954). The collection (23 males) is preserved i n the Anthro­pological Department.

Acknowledgements

V The author wishes to express his sincere thanks to Professors M. A. G R E M Y A T Z K I and G . F . D E B E T S for the cession of the Bronze Age findings from the Azovian area; to Professor M. G . A B D U S E L I S V I L I for the examination of the Hevsur series ; to Dr. T. P. K I Y A T K I N A for the study of the Early Iron Age and Early Medieval series; to Dr. L. BARKÓCZY , Dr. E. BÍRÓ , Dr. A. B U R G E R , Dr. J. F I T Z , Dr. D. G A B L E R , Dr. T. KOVÁCS , Dr. I . K O V R I G , Dr. T. N A G Y , Dr. G Y . NOVÁKI , Dr. K . Póczi, and Dr. T. S Z E N T L É L E K Y , for their personal communications with respect to divers series origi­nating from various archeologieal periods in Hungary.

* The remains indicated by an asterisk were first studied by L I P T Á K and NEMESKÉRI . —TT. ** The series was first studied by N E M E S K É R I and GASPARD Y . — TT.

Interpretation of results

Analysing the morphometric characteristics of the os malare of the male series (252 individuals) listed above, one should first of all pay due attention to the fact that a part of them is of relatively few numbers, hence the rate of variability is difficult to analyse. However, the comparison of the mean values of the osteological groups deriving from various geographical zones were considered more important than the analysis of individual deviations. Accordingly, it was possible to establish that the values of the findings originating from the Bronze and Aeneolithic Ages and from Late Roman Period in the Central Danubian Basin agree in essentials with the data published by Woo (1937), and are characteristical of the Europoids. That is, their mean value is below the index value 20.00. At the same time, the values of the above Central Danubian series essentially correspond with the values of the eastern Pamirian (Saka Period), Caucasian (Hevsur), western Siberian (Hanti), and New Guineán (Astrolabe Bay) series (Table I) . I t also deserves notice that the Avar Period materials from Hungary also reflect, with the exception of the Kiskőrös-Vágóhíd collection, values below the 20.00 index, together with the Magyar Conquest series. According to A L E X E Y E V (1956), the value of the malar arc index varies between 17—21 in the Europoids, and between 21—24 in the Mongoloids.

With respect to the Eurasian continent, the morphometric data established here­tofore represent highly significant contributions to similar investigations in the future, but it should be pointed out that the individual state of the relief of the os malare must be taken into consideration in the case of the given series. Namely, the perpen­dicular linear value, influencing to a significant rate the malar arc index, depends on

Table I Comparison of malar arc indices ( <?)

Ethnic groups Biometrie data N M+m/M/

Aeneolithic Age Central Danubian Basin 5 18. 17 +• 0 62 Tiszafüred (Hungary) Middle Bronze Age 2 20. 71 Azov-Region (Ukraina) Bronze Age 12 16.38 + 0 77 East-Pamir (Tadjikistan) Saka Period 19 IT. 47 + 0 57 Szabadszállás (Hungary) Scythian Period 6 18. 23 + 0 77 South-East T ransdanubia Late Roman Period 6 19.50 + 0. 71 Gorsium (Transdanubia) Late Roman Period 33 18.33 + 0. 40 Mursella (Transdanubia) Late Roman Period 9 18.33 + 1 11 Quadrata (Transdanubia) Late Roman Period 9 19.33 + 0. 54 Savaria (Transdanubia) Late Roman Period 4 16.43 + 2. 08 Scarabantia (T ransdanubia) Late Roman Period 2 15.56 Somogyszil (Hungary) Late Roman Period 3 18. 74 + 0 32 Sahristan I I . (Tadjikistan) VII.-DC c. 14 16.47 + 0 65 Budapest-Népstadion Avar Period 4 19.88 + 1. 57 Kiskőrös-Vágóhid (Hungary) Avar Period 4 22.51 + 1. 00 Előszállás (Hungary) Avar Period 11 18. 25 + 0. 53 Keszthely (Hungary) Avar- Period 8 17.87 + 0 77 Környe (Hungary) Avar Period 11 17.36 + 0. 62 Budapest-Wekerle Avar Period 10 17.83 + 0. 53 Üllő, Ilona-ut (Hungary) rx.-x. c. 9 18.33 + 0 8<3 Veszprém-Kálvária (Hungary) X . - X I . c. 15 19. 81 + 0. 66 Hevsuri (Gruzia) XVII. -XVIII. c. 17 16. 80 + 0. 62 Hanti (Middle Ob) xvin. -xrx. c . 16 18.90 + 0. 66 Astrolabe-Bay (New Guinea) xvm.-xrx. c. 23 16.68 + 0. 53

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the surface conditions of the facies malaris, since the development of the crista zygo-matica, defined by the museums zygomaticus, is varying and it may extend to the entire median portion of the os malare. Hence, in such cases, the possibility is not precluded that at least some intraserial os malare data attain high values in findings to be defined as Europoids according to other characters. In this respect, it is worthy of note that the malar arc index of the Early Iron Age Europoide series originating from the Palestine (Tell Duweir, Lachish), studied by R I S D O N (1939), is very high (22.8) and that it strongly approaches the mean maximum, as known at present, of the Esquimaux (index value 23.6; Woo, 1937). As concerns our series listed above, the os malare cannot be interpreted categorically as a primary taxonomical character in connection with intra- and interracial variability, but may submit essential and complementing differential diagnostic data for the delimitation of the main taxono-mic groups of the Eurasian continent.

For an analysis of sexual dimorphism and certain other problems, the future utilization of the data of the female craniological series and, in general, an increase of the amount of évaluable findings are indispensable.

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