ИСТИНА

Systematic archaeological excavations conducted for more than a century in the northern part of the Armenian Highlands, in the territories which were under the rule of Uduri-Etiuni union, allows us to supplement the information from the available Urartian cuneiform sources with significant archaeological and paleoanthropological data from the cemeteries of Mrtbi-dzor, Hatsarat, Noratus, Kanagegh, Geghovit, Akunk and Norabak. The cuneiform inscriptions of the Urartian kings (Sarduri II, Rusa I) document the names of the so called “kingdoms”(contries) included in the Uduri-Etiuni union (Velikukhi, Arkukini, Tulikhu). The location of the investigated archaeological sites where the presented craniological materials originate from territorially correspond with these political entities. Mrtbi-dzor, Hatsarat, Kanagegh and Noratus are situated in the territory of the "kingdom" of Velikukhi. Akunk and Norabak are located in Arkukini, while, Nerkin Getashen and Geghovit are in Tulikhu. The aim of this research is to present the method of multivariate canonical analysis based on individual data. The compiled dataset will be used to investigate the craniological materials of the Iron Age from the territories of the southwestern coast of Lake Sevan for the possible identification of ethnic groups. 13 main metric parameters of the cerebral and facial parts of the skull have been selected as comparative features. By canonical analysis, it was possible to distinguish 3 ethnic groups within the Uduri-Etiuni population which correspond with the territorial units of the "kingdoms" of Velikukhi, Arkukini and Tulikhu.