Medieval Kiev - the capital of Old-Rus Principality since the X century, was the biggest town in Rus' and one of the biggest in Europe. In that time people did not completely lost their connection with nature, but start adaptation to urban environment. The buffering function of a city community that was to protect human being from the negative influence of nature was not yet sufficient developed. Steadily growing density of population and migratory processes provoked wide and quick spreading of infectional diseases, lack of resources and, as a consequence, produced rapid population replacement. On the other hand, economical development, first of all, trade and handicraft, accompanied with medicine progress, contribute much to strengthening adaptation ability of the town-dwellers. The topographic appearance of the city and social life aspects of its inhabitance characteristics were expressed in some demographic, morpho-physiological and pathological specificities of the city population. The aims of thethesis in proposal are reconstruction of the morphological and physical characteristics of medieval Kiev's population and analyze of causes and prevalence of diseases in X-XIII centuries Kiev on the base of anthropological and palaeopathological investigation of human bone remains that were found during the archaeological excavations. 227 skeletons from the cemeteries of X-XIII c. Kiev, that located - one on the hill Schekawitza (posad population) and the others - on the Upper city (including cloisters) were investigated. The wide range of the anthropological methods was used for the solution of the problems in purpose, including classical palaeoanthropological techniques (craniological, osteological) as well as roentgenology, endoscopy and histology - the last elaborated by the group of palaeopathology of the University in Gottingen (Germany), under the guidance of Prof. M. Schultz. The examination of demographic parameters, physical state, traumas and diseases permitted to single out the anthropo-pathological complexes correlated with definite social-ecological groups: "quite propertied population" and "rather unpropertied population". "Rather unpropertied population" (the cemetery on the hill Schekawitza) represented autochthon population, which is craniologically and osteologically homogeneous. It can be characterized with poor physical development, small stature, high prevalence of caries, parodontopathy and their complications, as well as consequences of anemia. At the same time a few traces of stress markers were observed. High conjectural subadults mortality of famine and epidemic diseases is inherent in the group. All of this features characterised the population, buried on the Schekawitza cemetery as an agricultural one, whose diets largely depended on grains. Poor nutrition, inadequate hygiene and diseases of childhood caused low immunity in the group. Relatively high middle age-of-death index in the population is a consequence of rapid altering of individuals. Individuals of the "quite propertied population" of the Upper Kiev are specified by high stature and well developed relief of bones. The majority of the skull and postcranium traumas testify great life activity of the group. The age-of-death index here is rather high for this historical period. The jaws and teeth diseases distribution reflects diets rich with protein and vitamins. High quantities of caries in children and female indicates sweetmeats surplus in nutrition. Besides that, the complex is characterized with high prevalence of stress-markers, low percentage of anemia, as well as considerable extend of infectional diseases. Their signs on the bones were accumulating during lifetime, and this indicates strong immunity conducive to surviving a disease. Differentiated investigation of scurvy and stress markers (transversal enamel hypoplasy and Harris lines) in the adults and subadults groups pointed out that the famine and epidemics in this population were periodical and short-terms events with rapid health restoration. The consequences of them were not that catastrophic as those to the population of Schekawitza and other regions of Rus'. The specified in our work sex-age ratings and high variability of cranilological and osteological indexes fixed the presence of a large amount of young and adult men in medieval Kiev (migrants, according to the Old Rus' Chronicle), able to influence the process of the population physical type formation. Prevalence of traumas in Kiev is typical for a large medieval city. The majority of skull traumas as a marker of aggressiveness in community are met in male series dated back to Xth and XIIIth centuries. Postcranial traumas and arthropathy reflected the complicated topographical picture of the city and occupations of the population. The palaeopathological examination of the bone remains evidenced relatively high percent of tuberculosis and leprosy. Tuberculosis, known today as a socially dependent disease, did not expose clear correlation with the social status of any group in ancient Kiev, but demonstrated definite temporal dynamics. This concerned leprosy as well, which lesions are prevailed in Kiev burial grounds in different ratio. The detailed analyze of specific infectional diseases distribution permits to put forward a hypothesis on the establishing in Kiev the specialized hospital. The results of our investigation allowed characterizing the townspeople in Kiev in the X-XIII centuries as a typical medieval city population. Famine and infectional diseases should be identified as principal factors of mortality in Old Rus' Kiev. The influence of the natural environment on the population morbidity and mortality in it was sufficiently mitigated in various extents by social buffer.
