Pages: 375-393

This study focuses on the examination of the remains of the Grand Duchess of Moscow, Sophia Palaeologus. The first task was to identify the remains, the second one — to obtain reliable and detailed data on physical appearance of the Grand Duchess for further historical interpretations.
To study the remains of Sophia Palaeologus, we used practically the whole set of paleoanthropological methods. The skull was examined both by the classical craniological method and by the author’s angular morphometric technique. Besides taking measurements, osteological examination included evaluation of limb proportions, massiveness of bones and estimation of muscular relief (muscle attachment points — entheseal morphology). Also, characteristics of dental morphology of Sophia Palaeologus, the pathologies and the anomalies, reflected on the remains, were described.
Due to the complete picture obtained through morphological description, we managed to identify the remains. Dolichocrania, gracility, narrow-facedness and horizontal profiling of the face make it possible to define the studied individual as belonging to the Mediterranean anthropological type. Short stature, gracility of hand skeleton and shortened forearm are the characteristics of the physical appearance of the Grand Duchess. Facial reconstruction of Sophia Palaeologus based on Michael Gerasimov’s method was made by Sergey Nikitin.

Keywords: Sophia Palaeologus, craniology, angular skull morphometry, odontologia, osteology, palaeopathology

Information about authors:

Sergey Vasilyev (Moscow, Russian Federation). Doctor of Historical Sciences. Institute of Anthropology and Ethnography of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Lenin Ave., 32-A, Moscow, 119334, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
Svetlana Borutskaya (Moscow, Russian Federation). Candidate of Biological Sciences. M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University. Lomonosov Ave., 27-4, Moscow, 119991, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
Natalia Khaldeeva (Moscow, Russian Federation). Doctor of Historical Sciences. Institute of Anthropology and Ethnography of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Lenin Ave., 32-A, Moscow, 119334, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
Tatiana Panova (Moscow, Russian Federation). Doctor of Historical Sciences. Moscow Kremlin museums. Kremlin, 103132, Moscow, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]