North-East Indian Anthropological Research 2019 (preliminary results)

Abstract

Introduction. Russian-Indian Anthropological expedition was organized in 2019 by Paleoethnology Research Center (Russia), Timiryazev State Museum of Biology (Russia) and Department of Anthropology University of Calcutta (India). The goal was to examine the peoples of Tripura state, North-East India. Data and methods. About 350 individuals from eight different locations next to Agartala were examined. Currently there are 19 tribes in Tripura, Tripuri being one of them. The most common Tripuri’s surname is Debbarma. During the research 254 Debbarmas were examined, among them 106 individuals were children and teenagers (58 male and 48 female), and 148 individuals were older than 17 years (76 male and 72 female). The Russian-Indian Anthropological expedition research consisted of a complex study of Tripuri including morphology of body, head and face, dermatoglyphics, and dental anthropology. Social questionnaire and anthropological photo were also obligatory. All data was hold according to bioethics and the Privacy law. For further examination the data was depersonificated. Results. During the survey, basic information about the individual, including tribal affiliation, was clarified. An extended questionnaire made it possible to study many aspects of social relationships and build a population-genetic network. According to somatometric characteristics, tripuri males from the Debbarma family have an average body length (162.1 cm), relatively broad shoulders and an average pelvic width. A cephalometric study of 19 features was carried out. The studied group can be characterized as brachycephalic, leptoprosopic according to the morphological facial index and mesorrhine according to the nasal index. The zygomatic diameter is large, and the mandibular diameter is above average (on the Indian scale of variability). A detailed fixation of cephaloscopic features in children and adults was carried out, which made it possible to describe tripuri as representatives of a large Asian-American branch (race) of humanity. According to the odontological program, 293 people were examined, 221 of which were tripuri. Anthropological photo-fixation was carried out, and based on these materials the first composite tripuri portraits were compiled, published in this article. Conclusion. In the second season of the Russian-Indian anthropological expedition, data were collected on one of the insufficiently studied peoples of Northeast India – the Tripuri tribe. The group was investigated according to the maximum number of anthropological methods available in the field. For the first time, somatometric, cephalometric and cephaloscopic materials have been obtained and preliminary presented.