The Illiryan skeletons of Volčje njive

Abstract

From the 21 skeletons that have been found in the tum ulus, 5 belong to children, the rest to grow n-up people. Most of the best-preserved skeletons, on which the necessary m easurem ents could be taken, belong to people of m ature age. It can be in ferred from this fact that, at th at time, the life span was com paratively long. In all, only 3 skeletons w ith p artially preserved skulls and postcranial bones have been found. They belong to three m ale individuals w ho died at the age of m aturity. In shape, two of the skulls are dolichocephalic and one brachycephalic or even hyperbrachycephalic. It has been possible to ascer[1]tain the length an d the breadth index only of one of the tw o dolichocephalic skulls (73,4). On the others it has not been possible to tak e th e necessary m easurem ents. The round skull is dinarid in shape, high and sh o rt and falling steeply a t the back. The pertaining long bones enable us to recognize the individual as the ta llest of the three (from 170 to 183 cm). T he proportion of long skulls to round skulls in the w hole find of V olčje n jiv e u n fortunately cannot be calculated; still, the ratio of tw o long skulls to one round skull in the three skeletons m ay be characteristic. A rchaeologists date the tum ulus back to the period from 430 to 350 B. C. A t th a t time we observe a brachycepha[1]lisation of the Illyrians, w hich much la ter takes place also w ith the Slavs. T he burials n ea r G lasinac (1000—400 B. C.) contain 31,5 % dolichocephalic, 43 % mesocephalic and 25 % brachycephalic skulls. From the beginning of our era until the arriv al of the Slavs the skulls of the Illyrians in D alm atia, Bosnia and Herzegovina underw ent an essential change. Thus different burial complexes contain 13,4 % dolichocephalic, 30,43 % mesocephalic and 56,52 %, brachycephalic skulls. Among the la tte r 38.09 % are hyperbrachycephalic. T he A lbanians of today, whom we gen erally regard as direct descendants of the Illyrians, a re w ithout exception hyperbrachycephalic. T here is not th e slightest doubt th at a brachycephalisation took place also in th e Slovene area. H ow ever, this assumption cannot be confirmed nor the whole process more exactly determ ined until some bones a re found. W ith the interm ingling of the dolichocephalic Slavs and the brachycephalic Illyrians the brachycephalisation of the South Slavs took place and am ounts now adays to a percentage of 84 short skulls p er one hundred individuals.