Abstract: | The skeleton massiveness (SM) and the somatotype of human constitution were determined on the basis of osteometry of bones of carpal and metacarpal bones (MB) and of phalanxes. Seventy male and 13 female skeletons from the collection of the chair for anthropology, Moscow State University, were investigated. Described are the results of examinations of 8 carpal bones made according to 3 signs (length, width, and height), and of 5 metacarpal bones made according to 4 signs (length, base and head width, and base height); investigation findings of finger phalanxes (in full) are also presented. Methods of current multidimensional statistics were used within the case study, i.e. related with the key components--for SM specification and the discriminative analysis--for constitution specification. The SM determination accuracy according to type A was 40%, according to type B--80%, according to type C--37.5% and according to type D--52.9%. The classification accuracy of constitutions by carpal bones was 50.0%, by MB--46.4%, and by MB plus finger phalanxes--48.1%. It is pointed out that it was for the first time that the elaborated quantitative criteria of osteometry of hand bones could be used in the expertise practice for the purpose of personality identification by osseous remains. |