Study of anthropologic measurements among diverse Nordids and Mediterraneans groups.

[Visigodo]

Study of anthropologic measurements among diverse Nordid and Mediterranean groups and conclusions about the racial composition of the Spanish Visigohts.

Recently Agrippa has requested me if among the books ofanthropologythat I possess there existed some comparative study of anthropologic measurements among Gracilmediterranids, Atlantomediterranids and Nordids. At the moment the only thing that I could have found is a comparative study among Nordids, robust Mediterraneans (A-M) and Gracil-Mediterraneans populations from the spanish anthropologists VARELA LOPEZ relating to his anthropologic study of osseous remains proceeding from Visigothic necropolis in the Iberian Peninsula.

I think that the information is interesting if you like to compare from a strictly anthropologic point of view (measurements) the existing differences between the Nordid and the Mediterranean racial types. I add a summary of Varela's work that brings information about the results obtained in the study of the osseous existing remains in the Spanish Visigothic necropolis that as Ilse Schwidetzky in his work: " Zur Bevölderungsbioloige der spanichen Westgoten. Homo, 6, 178-180 (1957) comes to the same conclusions: "Nevertheless, depending on the material which we have we can conclude: the Hispanic Visigothic population, whose remains have remained us in the cemeteries of Castile, present the same anthropologic character that the Germanic populations of the Reihengräber type of the Central and Northern Europe and the same comparing the population of the territory of Gothic origin. To the first sight this conclusion might seem to be surprising. But after a more attentive examination, it is not in any way in contradiction with the history of Visigothic people».


TITO ANTONIO VARELA LOPEZ.- Estudio antropológico de los restos óseos procedentes de necrópolis visigodas de la Península Ibérica. Trabajos de Antropología (Consejo superior de investigaciones científicas) 1974-1975.

SUMARY:

This work deals on the anthropological analysis of the bone remains coming from the Visigothic necropolis of Iberian Peninsula, as well as the evaluation frequency of racial Nordic type and the posterior influence in the biodynamic of peninsular population. For that, we have disposed on a total of 208 skulss and 750 long bones, from the following necropolis: Deza (Soria), Abelda de Iregua (Logroño), Carpio de Tajo (Toledo), Herrera de Pisuerga (Palencia), Hinojar del Rey (Burgos), Alconetar (Cáceres) and the necropolis of Segovia province: Castiltierra, Duranton, Madrona and Aguilafuente. Another necropolis which visigothic characteristics are not clear have been rejected.
The age of the necropolis can be placed all along VIIth Century, and the geographic distribution corresponds essentially to the plateau of Duero and Tajo.
The racial purity of invasor groups, as well as the problem of hybridisation are considered and discussed in this work.
The metrical and morphological analysis of the series show the following aspects: dolichocranic and shape usually ovoid in norma verticalis. The height-length index is crearly ortocranic and the same happens for the auricular-height length index. The height-breadth index is acrocranic and metriocranic the auricular-height-breadth index. The cranial capacity is high (aristencefalic) and the mesorrhine with tendency to leptorrhine and mesoconchic for the orbital index.
The stature calculated by Pearson’s formula is 167,61 cmts. For the males and 154,51 cmts. for the females.
The typological diagnosis reveals that the group more frequent is the Nordic type usually named “Reihengräber tipus” present in the 56,6% of the individuals. The following type is the gracile Mediterranean one (20,76 %) and the Cromagnoid type with 12,25%. In the most low frequencies there are the brachycranic curvoocipital type and the robust Mediterranean one with 6,71% and 3,78% respectively. Moreover we have carried out comparison of populations by means of Mollison-Breitinger method and the Mollison’s formula, modified by Poniatowsky. The results obtained show us that the Spanish Visigoths are more near to the Nordic groups than the Mediterranean ones.
To the light of this results we can conclude that the Spanish Visigoths would be composed essentially, by Nordic elements and later they would incorporate elements of the Mediterranean type. Consequently the biological influence of the Nordic type in Spain is important during the centuries of Visigoth dominion specially in its dispersion area. With respect to the consequences of this influence in the general Spanish population and its posterior dynamic, the results here obtained do not permit a definitive conclusion. Nevertheless we can suppose that, little by little, the Nordic logical type would diffuse into the racial Mediterranean stock, which predominate in the Iberian Peninsula, from the Neolithic period.

Comparisons:

Since the essential problem consists of knowing if the Visigoths wereNordicsindividualsor Mediterraneans, logically we will have to compare the series that we study with two racial groups, one Nordic and the other Mediterranean, in order to know if the Spanish Visigoths are included inside one of the groups or if, on the contrary, they present intermediate values. Among the Nordic groups it is necessary to choose those that could be related in major degree by the Visigoths. But, the original Nordic population of Scandinavia, as the undivided Visigothic group that have lived near the river Vístula, we do not possess anthropologic information, since they were practicing the incineration. For this reason we take the following groups as more representative as Nordics:

a) The population of Manchen-Giesin (Kramp, 1939, and Breitinger, 1938)

b) The group of Reinhengräber of the Southwest of Germany, composed by the following series: Nusplingen (Eble), Hailfingen (Schlunk, Weigarten (Huber), Mungen (Meny) and Oberrotweil (Neck Flows).

c) Another group of Reinhengraber types from the north of Germany (Hurg, 1940). Besides we will include some other less representative groups of Nordic typology, like the the Gepids(Glaser, 1935) and the Swedish of the Iron Age (Steffensen, 1953), which comparison with our group can orientate us in a certain direction.

As representative groups of the Mediterranean type we have the following ones:

a) The population of Hispano-romans from Tarragona studied by Pons (1949).

b) The neo-Neolithic population of the Iberian Peninsula (Garralda).

We will also include the Hispanic Crania (Hoyos Sainz and Aranzadi, 1913). Constituted by Spanish people of the XIXth century, though this information it is necessary to consider them with certain reservations, especially because the epoch in which they have been analyzed. Certainly, we will compare with Silveirona's Visigoths aswell (Xavier de Cunha and Clear, 1953).

In the picture 5 figure the information of the populations that come to be compared with the Spanish Visigoths. There have been chosen those characters that have been considered to be like more representatives to carry out the above mentioned comparison. Later we indicate some aspects of the compared populations: the population of Giesing is located in the south-east of Germany and belongs to the high Middle Ages and by his characteristics they can be considered to be a group of Nordic typology, though he presents a small diversion towards the Dinaric type, as has demonstrated Kramp (1936).

The group of Reinhengraber types from the north of Germany, compiled by Hug (1940), and the group Reinhengraber types of the Southwest of Germany, formed by several and diverse necropolis, present a strong Nordic component, being from the same epoch.

The group of Gepidspresents a clear diversion from the Nordic type towards forms more brachicephalic. The Swedish from the Iron Age constitute a slightly numerous series and we must supose a strong Nordic component among them.

As for the Mediterranean groups, they are represented by the Hispano-romans population of Tarragona that, for the possible contribution of the Roman legions, show a certain degree of robustness and increase in size; the calcolithic population of the Peninsula with a certain percentage of robust Mediterranean types and, finally, in doubtful situation, Silveirona's remains and the Hispanic Crania, the latter especially for the indicated previously, though it is necessary to suppose a strong Mediterranean component.


Here you will find some translations to understand the data I add:


Longitud maxima: Maximum length.
Longitud de la base: Length of the base.
Anchura maxima: Maximum bredth.
Anchura F. Mínima: Minim. F. Bredth.
Altura B. Bregma: Height B. Bregma.
Capacidad: Capacity.
Inde. Cefálico: Cephalic. Ind.
Ind. Vertical longitudinal: Vertical longitudinalInd.
Ind. Vertical transversal: Vertical transversal Ind.
Anchura de la cara: Breadth of the face.
Altura de la cara superior: Height of the top face.
Anchura de la órbita: Breadth of the orbit.
Altura de la órbita: Height of the orbit.
Anchura nasal: Nasal breadth.
Altura nasal: Nasal height.
Ind. Facial superior: Upper facial Ind.
Ind. Orbitario: Orbit Ind.
Ind. Nasal: NasalInd.
Ind. Transverso craneo facial: Transverse facial craniumInd.
Anchura bigoniaca: Bigonial breadth.

Españoles visigodos: Spanish’s Visigoths.
Suecos Edad de Hierro: Swedish form Iron Age.
Calcolíticos españoles: Spanish’s Calcolithics.
Crania Hispánica: Hispanic Crania

[Agrippa]

Great thread with interesting material. What made me really wonder is the Gepid sample...would be interesting to know whether suffered from severe malnutrition or other extreme environmental influences or being mixed or simply what kind of sample that was.

Some data for Germanics from W. Bernhard, A. Kandler-Palsson (1986):

[Visigodo]

Originally Posted by Agrippa

Great thread with interesting material. What made me really wonder is the Gepid sample...would be interesting to know whether suffered from severe malnutrition or other extreme environmental influences or being mixed or simply what kind of sample that was.

Some data for Germanics from W. Bernhard, A. Kandler-Palsson (1986):

Thanks for the data. About the Gepids as your you say a real correlation does not exist between the group of Gepids used for the comparative study (Glaser, 1935) and the rest of the Nordid groups including the Visigoths. Varela notices:


“Having in mind the supposed affinity of the Spanish Visigoths with Silesia's Gepids, we have considered to be opportune to compare between these two populations. The average deviation expressed in units sigma has a very high value (0,72), which presupposes a very notable differences. In the obtained information it puts of manifest the difference above mentioned, appreciating besides the minor size of the serie from the Gepids. The most marked differences are in the maximum length, capacity, height of the upper face and nasal height. Everything which emphasizes the absence of the supposed affinity between both mentioned groups".

So we have only two options: The group of Gepids was mixed with non-Nordid people of they suffer some kind of malnutrition or bad environmental conditions.