БРАХИКЕФАЛИЗАЦИЯТА И МИГРАЦИОННИТЕ ПРОЦЕСИ В БЪЛГАРСКИТЕ ЗЕМИ ОТ НЕОЛИТА ДО КЪСНОТО СРЕДНОВЕКОВИЕ
BRACHICHEPHALIZATION AND MIGRATION PROCESSES ON BULGARIAN SOIL FROM THE NEOLITH TO THE LATE MIDDLE AGES

Summary/Abstract: Forty craniological series are examined, dated from Early Neolith to the end of XVIII c. They afford the opportunity to trace epochal changes in skull configuration on Bulgarian soil. Their comparative study allows to look for the relations between the migration processes and the variations of basic crania dimensions through space and time. The period of brachi-chephalization's initial progress is the Eneolith, connected with the appearence of doliho-mezocranian transitional variants from proto-mediterranean to gracile mediterranean racial types. Dolihocrania are the prevailing type up to the end of the Iron Age. During the Roman period the skull index apparently rises, mainly on account of increasing of skull breadth. Early Middle Ages mark the climax in the process of brachichephalization with a strong decrease of skull length. There appear mezobrachicranial skulls with mongoloid admixtures in the formation of eye-sockets, the nasal holes and the profilization of face and with a more remarkable upper-face height. A certain decrease of the index together with the greatest for the whole Middle Ages period length, is found in X-XII c. During this period is established an influence of new migration processes, reaching the south-eastern regions of the country. In XII-XIV c. starts a gradual process of parallel decrease of skull length and breadth together with an increase of skull index. Territorial differences also become apparent in the Late Middle Ages and the next centuries the decrease of skull length continues and it is accompanied by a slight increase of the index. Starting from 73.4 in Neolith, the skull index reaches 77.8 in XV-XVII c. period. From the XVIIIth up to the beginning of XX c, its values hold up 78.4. Brachichephalization in the Middle Ages is influenced not only by the evolutional reduction of skull length, but as also and to a large extent, by the migration processes and diverse factors of selection.

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