On the origin of certain Early Iron Age populations of Western Siberia. Part I. Synchronic analysis

Ten male Early Iron Age cranial samples from Western Siberia — early Bol’shaya Rechka (Zavyalovo), three Kamen’, three Sargat, Gorokhovo, Kashino, and Kulay — were compared with 62 samples of the same period from adjacent territories using the D2 distance measure corrected for sample size. The distance matrix was subjected to nonmetric multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis. A new graphic method of combining two-dimensional representation with clustering is proposed. The vast majority of samples are arranged into two clusters, unequal in size. The morphologically “western” one includes 67 samples, the morphologically “eastern” one, four. All Western Siberian groups of the Early Iron Age, except Kulay, fall into the central part of the “western” cluster, evidently attesting to admixture between them; Kulay belongs to the “eastern” cluster, taking an isolated position within it. Within the “western” cluster”, two vectors of between-group variation are observed. The first one evidences admixture of two autochthonous components, Bol’shaya Rechka (Zavyalovo) and Kulay, with Saka immigrants. resulting in the emergence of the Kamen’ populations, among which the Novosibirsk population is not closer to Early Bol’shaya Rechka (Zavyalovo) but further from it than are the other two Kamen’ groups. The second vector mirrors the decline of the Andronovo component, mostly expressed in the Tagar samples. This vector links the Pazyryk group from the Ursul Ri­ver, obviously Tagar by origin, with Sargat, Kashino, and early Bol’shaya Rechka (Zavyalovo). The origin of the latter group could have been affected by pre-Sauromatians; that of Sargat and Kashino, by Sauromato-Sarmatian tribes. Gorokhovo is intermediate between the two vectors. Kulay is opposed to other Western Siberian populations, showing the highest concentration of eastern traits and resembling only two Altai-Sayan groups — Kopto and Kara-Koba. The Permian tendency of Kashino is not supported. Resemblance betweet Kamen’, early Sargat, and early Ananyino may be related to the “Uralic” tendency displayed by cranial nonmetrics in these Western Siberian groups

Ancient history · Geography · Iron Age · Ancient and Medieval Archaeology Studies · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Eurasian Exchange Networks · History