The crania from modern cemeteries in Jaksice (Kujawsko-Pomorskie Province, Poland) and craniometric relationships among medieval and modern Central European populations

Abstract

The paper presents the anthropometric characteristics of the crania from church cemeteries in Jaksice (Kujawy, Poland). The archaeological excavations in Jaksice were carried out in 1968 and 1969. The crania found were dated to the 15th and 17th centuries. For each cranium 10 anthropometric measurements were taken according to R. Martin’s (1928) technique. Their sex and age were estimated according to the methods recommended by European anthropologists. Data on craniological traits for 21 populations from Poland were collected from literature. Using principal components analysis differentiation of the Late Middle Ages and modern populations from Poland was analysed. The analysis was performed also with the use of the biological distance and the cluster analysis methods. High degree of resemblance of the studied crania to the crania of Central Poland (Kujawy, Wielkopolska) populations was revealed.