OSTEO- AND CRANIOMETRICAL DATA ON POPULATIONS OF 7 <sup>th</sup> CENTURY BC - 3 <sup>rd</sup> AD FROM SOUTH SIBERIA
The paper focuses on analyzing new osteometrical data on populations of 7 <sup>th</sup> century BC - 3 <sup>rd</sup> AD from Tuva, Minusinsk Basin, Upper Ob' basin, Western Mongolia and TransBaikal area. The analysis of cranial and osteometric traits revealed that series of the Hunnu period were significantly different from those of the Scythian period not only in their skull morphology but in metric characteristics of long bones as well. Hunnu series are characterized by flat facial skeleton, shorter tibia, and massive femurs. The most specific series of Scythian period are those of Tagar culture of the Minusinsk Basin which are characterized by long and massive bones of the upper limbs. Correlation between results of cranial and osteometric analyses are high and statistically significant. This suggests that osteometric data can be a rather important source of information for reconstruction of biological affinities of human populations. Refs 37.