Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 54 (3) 2026   oi:10.17746/1563-0110.2026.54.3.130-144

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Cranial Affinities of the Altai Mountains Population
During the Xiongnu-Sarmatian Age

T.A. Chikisheva and D.V. Pozdnyakov

Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia

To clarify biological ties of the Early Iron Age Bulan-Koba people of the Altai Mountains, craniometric analysis of three chronological subgroups was carried out: Ust-Edigan (200 BC to 100 AD), Bely Bom (100-350 AD), and Kok-Pash (350-450 AD). The respective trait combinations could have been affected by contacts with other groups of Asiatic steppe nomads during the 300 BC to 500 AD interval. Morphological differences at the within-group level were evaluated using the t-test and F-test for independent observations. Canonical discriminant analysis was carried out using Scythian-Saka and Xiongnu-Sarmatian Age samples from the Volga-Ural region, Southern Urals, Kazakhstan, Central Asia, and Siberia. Diachronic analysis of the Bulan-Koba group reveals no breaks in biological continuity. During the Xiongnu-Sarmatian Age, people with western Eurasian features migrated to the Altai from other areas of Central Asia. The principal autochthonous trait combination was related to the Southern Eurasian Formation with Caucasoid admixtures from Western Central Asia. Over the entire span of the Bulan-Koba culture, its ties were directed eastward, mainly to Xinjiang, as well as Tuva and Mongolia. In female part of the series, these ties were limited to Xinjiang and Tuva. Minor changes occurred only at the Bely Bom stage, when the autochthonous component prevailed. At the Late Kok-Pash stage, the eastern vector is not traceable anymore. Judging by western trait combinations, ties at that stage were likely with Southern Urals and Trans-Urals.

Keywords: Bulan-Koba culture, Xiongnu-Sarmatian age, Altai Mountains, population affinities, canonical discriminant analysis.