The Dune Grave of the Hun Period from the «Posolsky» Cemetery: Archaeology and Anthropology

The paper introduces into scientific discourse archaeological and anthropological materials from grave 32 (excavation trench 5) of the Hun period at the Posolsky in-ground cemetery excavated by the archaeological expedition of the Khalikov Institute of Archaeology (Kazan) in 2020. The cemetery was located in the Privolzhsky district, Astrakhan region in the central part of the Volga estuary. Based on the ritual practice and offering goods, the examined grave can be dated to the 4th–5th centuries AD. The study of the anthropological materials has revealed a strongly deformed cranium; this type of artificial deformation is defined as high circular and it has been identified among contemporaneous populations inhabiting the Lower Volga region, Crimea, Hungary, etc. The craniometric data point to a mixed Mongoloid-Caucasoid origin, this conclusion is consistent both with the data of written sources and comparative data. The degree of pathological conditions of the skeleton bones reveals traces of subacute inflammation in the cranium and the dental system. The postcranial skeleton bones exhibit signs of degenerative changes.