Cranial materials of the Mordvins from the burial grounds of the Upper Sura River and Moksha River regions in the 1st millennium AD

The craniological characteristics of the Mordvin population during the 1st millennium AD remain understud-ied. This article presents craniometric data derived from a comprehensive series of skulls from Mordvin necropo-lises dating to the 2nd–7th centuries AD, located in the Penza Region. The study aims to provide a detailed de-scription of the craniological materials and to determine their position within the broader context of other Mordvin craniological samples. The craniometric analysis was conducted in accordance with R. Martin's methodology. Data processing involved analytical and synthetic approaches, employing a range of statistical techniques. To assess potential Mongoloid admixture, calculations of the indices proposed by G.F. Debets were performed, such as the preauricular faciocerebral index and the facial skeleton flattening index. Intergroup comparisons were car-ried out using the Mahalanobis squared distances (D2). The male and female components of the sample are characterised by dolichocrania, a relatively wide and low facial skeleton, slightly flattened at the nasomalar level and sharply profiled at the zygomaxillary angle level, and a high nasal bridge. Males exhibit a very small nasal angle, while females exhibit an average nasal angle. Morphologically, the craniological series is heterogeneous. The male subgroup of the series presumably includes a component characterised by a relatively short cerebral section of the skull and a flattened facial skeleton. Comparative analysis of the studied series with other Mordvin craniological samples from various historical periods has revealed a tendency toward convergence with certain series from the 2nd millennium AD in the Moksha River Region. These findings suggest a possibility of partial genetic continuity among the Mordvins of this region over the past two millennia.