Identification of Tian Shan Saka by Found Skulls
Female skulls of the Tian Shan Saka are brachycranic, medium-sized, and have a moderately sloping forehead. The main height-width measurements of the facial part, both in absolute and relative terms, fall into the medium category. The face is strongly flattened in the upper part and moderately so in the nasal area. The vertical profile has an overall orthognathic angle, while the alveolar part is mesognathic. The Flower index is average, the nasal bridge is high, but the angle of nasal projection is small. The series is also heterogeneous in terms of the expression of Mongoloid traits. The ability to assess the intergroup and intragroup variability at the regional level in the female part of the population is extremely limited. From only two burial sites - Kurennaya and Alamyshika, there are 3 skulls each, while the remaining 12 are represented by single skulls. The male skulls from Kurennaya have a wide, high, flat face, mesoconch orbits, and a weakly protruding nose. They are very similar to male skulls from the same burial site, but the Europoid admixture is almost imperceptible (UCL=78.0; PFC=96.3; UDM=95.2). In the racial type of female skulls from Alamyshika, Europoid traits prevail. They are close to male skulls from the same burial site, but the Mongoloid admixture is more pronounced (UCL=44.2; PFC=90.9; UDO=28.9).
Thus, the Saka of Tian Shan are characterized by an average Europoid brachycranic type with a Mongoloid admixture, the level of which is higher in the female part of the population. In male skulls, UCL=38.3; PFC=93.3; UDM=34.6.
In female skulls, UCL=51.0; PFC=92.3; UDM=44.0. Both men and women are anthropologically heterogeneous, with complexes of traits dominated by Europoid and Mongoloid features. The basis of the Europoid skulls (both male and female) is the brachycranic type with a wide, medium-high, relatively low face. The Mongoloid component is represented by two variants. One of them, with a high, wide face and mesoconch orbits, is found among both men and women. The other, with a wide, relatively low face, hamoconch orbits, and a tendency towards alveolar prognathism, is predominantly noted among men. It is possible that the Mongoloid component in the female series is also heterogeneous; however, due to its small size, it is not possible to adjust for this. Skulls of different anthropological types are concentrated in different burial sites.
To determine the position of the cranial groups representing the Saka of Tian Shan among other synchronous and earlier series, a principal component analysis was conducted. The comparison considered 22 traits: longitudinal, transverse, height diameters, cranial index, length of the facial and cranial bases, facial projection index, forehead width, zygomatic diameter, facial height, upper facial index, nose width, nasal index, orbital height, orbital index, nasomalar and zygomaxillary angles, simotic and dacryal indices, forehead slope angle, general facial angle, and nasal projection angle. The analysis included 38 male and 36 female series from the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age of the Aral Sea region, Pamir, Alai, Kazakhstan, as well as from eastern regions - Southern Siberia, Western Mongolia, and Eastern Turkestan. The comparison was conducted in the plane of the first two components, describing 46% of the variance of traits in both male and female skulls. In both cases, the first component highlighted "Mongoloidness," while the second component primarily separates skulls based on facial height, orbital height, and nasal index.
The analysis of the positions of male series showed the following. The Saka of Dzhiel-Aryk and Keden show closeness to the Scythians of the Altai Mountains (Tytkeskene-6) and Bronze Age series from Tuva (Baidaq-III) and Western Mongolia (culture of grave goods). The Saka of Kurennaya occupy an intermediate position between such Europoid populations as the culture of grave goods and the Scythians of Tuva, Karasuns, and Okunevs of the Minusinsk Basin, on one side, and such Mongoloid populations as those of the culture of slab graves, Huns of Transbaikalia, and Scythians of the Altai Mountains from Tuekty and Shibe. The Saka of Kurennaya are most closely related to the Saka of Tagiskena from the Aral Sea region. The skulls from Alamyshika are also similar to those of the Aral Saka. Finally, the composite series of the Saka of Tian Shan, the most Europoid of all, is located almost at the center of the coordinates in a dense cluster of points representing the Andronovo culture of Tomsk Priobye, Minusinsk Karasuns, Saps of Central and Northern Kazakhstan, Usuns from Djaosu, the population of grave goods, and the Scythians of Tuva.
Findings Characterizing the Early Saka Period
