The Appearance of the Population of the Medieval Fortress of Ples

The present study is devoted to the restoration of the appearance of the population (XI-XIII centuries), that lived on the territory of the modern city of Ples, Ivanovo region. The craniological material comes from two necropolises: Varvarinsky - 8 skulls (5 male, 3 female) and the cemetery on Cathedral Hill - 6 skulls (3 male, 3 female). Whole skulls were selected for the work, according to which a reliable reconstruction of the lifetime appearance is possible. The calculation of the lifetime size of the head was carried out based on the size of the skull according to the program “Algorithm of the Appearance”. Graphic reconstructions of the face and profile of four individuals were performed in different techniques: a pencil drawing and a photograph image. A sculptural reconstruction of a representative of the local population of Kostroma Merya, made earlier, is given. In addition to creating individual craniofacial reconstructions, the article presents a new method for visualizing paleoanthropological data - a generalized portrait reconstruction based on craniological materials. This method is an analogue of the generalized photo portrait in studies of the modern population. Only here, at the first stage, a generalized image of the skull is performed and, based on it, the average lifetime appearance is restored. The generalized portrait reconstruction illustrates the morphological features of the paleoanthropological group as a whole, allowing for visual comparison with modern populations and correlating the results obtained with generalized portraits of modern groups. Men and women of the medieval Ples have a narrow head, somewhat elongated in the frontal-occipital direction, weak development of the brow relief, an orthognathic face, medium height and width, a high nose bridge, a protruding nose, small eyes and a rather large lower jaw. The authors declare no conflicts of interests.

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