Сравнительная остеометрическая характеристика населения энеолита и ранней бронзы степного Поволжья

The paper presents the results of a comparison of the osteometric characteristics of the Eneolithic and Early Bronze Age (EBA) series by comparing descriptive statistical data and using the non-parametric Mann-Whitney test. On the one hand, there is a significant difference between the relatively mesomorphic Khvalynsk Eneolithic population and the extremely massive skeletons from the Yamna culture of the Volga region. On the other hand, the EBA group has similarities with the Neolithic-Eneolithic series from the Dnieper-Don region. This result provides additional support for the hypothesis that the Yamnaya culture population originated in the Dnieper-Don area. The descendants of Mariupol Neolithic population or groups occupying the western fringe of the Khvalynsk-Sredny Stog Eneolithic cultural region likely served as the substrate for the development of the Yamnya population. The paper also examines environmental factors that influence the variability of the postcranial skeleton. Increased aridization in the climate during the early Bronze Age is assumed to have led to a reorientation of economic activities towards mobile cattle breeding. This, in turn, is expected to result in increased physical activity among the population and the introduction of a new protein source in the diet through dairy products. These changes could explain the increased hypermorphism of the skeletal remains of people from the Yamnaya culture.