CHILDREN’S BURIALS OF THE LATE SCYTHIAN NECROPOLIS CHERVONY MAYAK

The paper presents a comprehensive pathological and morphological description and analysis of the skeletal remains of children discovered in the Chervony Mayak necropolis between 2011 and 2021. The sample comprises 46 skeletons exhibiting varying degrees of preservation. The children’s sample was subjected to morphological analysis, including determination of age, measurement of long bone lengths, and assessment of major pathological alterations in the dentition and jaws, as well as in the skull and bones of the postcranial skeleton. The sample of children’s burials obtained from the Chervony Mayak was sufficient to address the primary research questions concerning the ancient population of Ukraine in prehistoric times. Graves of various types, including crypts, niche graves and regular pits, were used for centuries in the late antique necropolises as well as on the Late Scythian burial grounds. This may be reasoned by the multiethnicity or different social status of the deaths. The study of the children’s morphology can add few to the existing theories and results of archaeological and morphological studies of the adult population. However, the examination of pathological indicators, such as dental diseases and the frequency of the signs of deficiencies, despite not being statistically significant in most cases due to the small sample effect, has provided valuable information. Notably, the patterns observed in the prevalence of dental diseases in children are similar to those observed in adults. The distinction between childhood diseases is contingent mainly upon «social markers». The analysis of the children’s remains buried in crypts revealed the presence of dental caries and calculus on deciduous teeth, as well as a high frequency of vestiges of anemia. In light of these indicators, the population has been closely aligned with agricultural communities since the first millennium AD. In other words, their diet consisted primarily of plant-based foods, particularly cereals. Furthermore, the consumption of dairy products is also a possibility. In light of the study’s findings, it can be posited that a part of the population buried in the regular pits and niche graves may have followed diets and lifestyles comparable to those of pastoral populations. In the crypts the proportion of children with vestiges of deficiencies and chronic infections was slightly lower than in the niche graves. Even children from potentially disparate social classes in past societies could spend a considerable amount of time together. The close contact between the two groups is evidenced by the almost equal percentage of traces of nonspecific infections and the high frequency of tuberculous meningitis. No cases of advanced stages of bone tuberculosis have been identified among the Late Scythian population. It is conceivable that the existence of latent and recurrent inflammatory processes in children, along with the presumed high mortality rate, may be indicative of a persistent influx of population to the site.