To the method of evaluating metric data on the main absolute signs and indexes of the human skeleton (based on anthropological materials of the Samara necropolises in the XVIII-XIX centuries)
Materials and methods. The purpose of this work was the compilation of new categories for evaluating the development of bones in postcranial parts of skeletons. Osteological materials from the necropolises burials in the city of Samara in XVIII-XIX (from 410 male and 285 female individuals) belonging to people of mature age were measured. Statistical indicators were calculated for the most important features for these samples. The variational series of these characters were tested for normal distribution using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Lilliefors and Shapiro-Wilk criteria (Statistica 8 program). Kolmogorov-Smirnov results were used as a basis for further development, where the largest number of features with a normal distribution of the variation series were revealed. Intervals of dimensional values of attributes are compiled into five categories: “very small”, “small”, “medium”, “large”, “very large” based on the so-called “three sigma rule” [Lakin, 1990, p. 87]. Results. Based on statistical calculations on the bones and departments of postcranial skeletons size from necropolises of the 18th-19th centuries in the city of Samara, new rubrics were developed and presented. Numerical categories make it possible to assess the degree of physical development of the skeletal base, both in absolute and relative characteristics, for a mature population, primarily, immediately prior to the modern stage. The number of indicative features that differentiate body segments at the individual level is increased in comparison with previous methods. These include the clavicular-humeral and clavicular-pelvic pointers, as well as the conditional indicator of the skeleton volume, developed by G. F. Debets [Debets, 1964]. These tables are compiled for both men and women. Conclusion. The authors’ development can be used in the practice of medico-legal and forensic examinations, and, to a certain extent, in the study of paleoanthropological material related to the Caucasoid population of Eurasia.