Mikhail Gerasimov (1907 – 1970) was a Soviet archaeologist and anthropologist who developed the first technique of forensic sculpture based on findings of anthropology, archaeology, paleontology, and forensic science. He studied the skulls and meticulously reconstructed the faces of more than 200 people, ranging from the earliest excavated homo sapiens and Neanderthals, to the Middle Ages monarchs and dignitaries, including Yaroslav the Wise of Kyiv, and Ivan the Terrible of Suzdal.
Below is a translation of a chapter from his book ‘Basics of facial reconstruction from the skull‘ published in 1949:
“In the Nikopol district, near the village of Sumskoye, one of the numerous Scythian burial mound groups, ‘Sirko‘ is located.For a number of years, B.N. Grakov had been excavating this burial mound group. As a result of the excavations in 1945, a relatively intact skull was discovered in burial mound No. 2 (burial 2, No. 22), which was given to me to create a reconstruction of the Scythian. Typical finds allowed B.N. Grakov to date this burial, as well as the entire group of burial mounds “Sirko” to the 5th-4th century BC.
The well-preserved skull given to me belonged to a mature man of 43-45 years old. The skull in horizontal projection is closest to the sphenoid form, but due to the fact that it is strongly elongated, this form loses its characteristic. The cranial vault is flattened and roof-shaped; barely protruding beyond the occiput, it forms a significant bend at the transition from the parietal bones. In the lower part of the occipital bone, there is a distinct shaft, while the protuberantia occipitalis externa is relatively strongly developed (according to the Broca scale, it reaches 3 points).
The brow ridges are well developed (reaching up to 2 points on a 3-point scale), and the degree of their development is emphasized by the relative steepness of the forehead. The facial skeleton has a sharp relief; in its outlines, it comes closest to a pentagonal shape. The orbits with enhanced relief of the edges are angular, relatively narrow and profiled.
In their shape, they are closest to the outlines of a trapezoid. The edges of the orbit are rounded at the top and strongly blunted at the bottom. The orbital chamber is vaulted, i.e., significantly higher than the external opening of the orbit.
The shape of the pear-shaped opening is clearly heart-shaped, but despite the fact that the subnasal spine is significantly raised in the middle part, its outer end is directed steeply downwards, and on the Broca scale, the nasal spine reaches no more than 2 points.
The alveolar process is high, with a strong relief of individual tooth cells. The suprapernosa, according to Martin, approaches 5 points. The sharp relief of the superciliary arches creates the impression of an even more developed suprapernosa.
The narrow bridge of the nose is blunt, the anterior section of the zygomatic bones is very powerful, wide, somewhat flattened, with a poorly developed transition to the maxillary bones, as a result of which the canine fossa is poorly developed.
The wear of the outer side of the teeth indicates that the bite was such that the incisors of the upper jaw overlapped the incisors of the lower jaw, with the teeth closing in tight rows overlapping each other (a sharp form of psalidontia). The chin is strong, forked, with a unique serrated thin ridge running deep into the mental groove.
Such ridges usually indicate an increase in muscle relief. The alveolar part of the intermaxillary suture has some defect. As a result of a late fusion of the upper part of the alveolar edge, a very deep, irregularly shaped pit (sunken hole) has formed.
The lower jaw has a clearly visible trace of an old wound, most likely an arrow. The arrow hit the main body of the lower jaw in its very corner on the right side. The blow fell under the alveoli of the last molars; a large piece of bone was knocked out, extending from the corner of the ascending branch of the jaw to the exit of the mental nerve (n. mentalis). The length of the affected area is 33 mm. As a result of this injury, some deformation of the entire lower jaw occurred. The relief of the affected side is somewhat weakened, especially the crest of the angulus mandibulae is smoothed out.
On the contrary, on the left side of the jaw, the entire relief is greatly increased, strengthened (of course, this is a compensatory phenomenon).
The arrow brought a broken piece of bone with both molars into the mouth and knocked out the last two molars on the left side. No other damage was found on the left side of the jaw.
Judging by the condition of the inside of the jaw, there was no serious injury to the tongue and hyoid muscles. The jaw did not lose its functionality, and the wounded man was forced to chew only, mainly with his left side, until the wound healed.
As a result of this injury, no particularly significant deformation of the masticatory muscle occurred; some smoothing of the microrelief of the ascending branch of the right half of the jaw and compensatory strengthening of the same part on the left side of the ascending branch are due to the need to transfer the main chewing function to the left side.
The peculiar lowering of the frontal part of the lower jaw, which resulted in the formation of a distinct protrusion on the right side of the chin, should be considered a compensatory phenomenon. The state of obliteration of the chip surface indicates that a considerable amount of time had passed from the moment of injury to death.
There was no particular disfigurement as a result of this facial wound. The relatively small scar on the lower part of the cheek is not very noticeable and was most likely covered by the beard. The natural facial asymmetry resulting from the wound also does not make an unpleasant impression.
It is absolutely certain that this wound was caused by an arrow, and most likely at a great distance, but not at the end of its flight. The wounded man was higher in relation to the shooter; he was probably on horseback, and the shooter was on foot.
At the moment of impact, the arrow flew almost horizontally, with a slightly noticeable tendency of the main direction upwards. The tip stuck into the body of the jaw below the crest of the angulus mandibulae, between the 3rd and 2nd molars and obliquely, chipping off the entire piece along the crest with the alveoli of both teeth.
If the arrow had been flying at the end of its flight, it would not have been able to break off such a massive piece of bone and would have either gotten stuck in the body of the jaw or, what is even more likely, would have simply broken it with the force of the blow. Yes, and besides, the arrow would have had a slightly different direction, namely: not from below upwards, but vice versa – from top to bottom, which would give a completely different picture of the wound. To the same extent, one can say with confidence that this wound was caused by an arrow, and not as a result of a blow inflicted by a dart or spear.
With a glancing blow from a spear, it would probably have been possible to receive a wound similar in external form, but with a blow from a spear, the teeth on the opposite side of the jaw would not have been knocked out, whereas they were knocked out, and even the alveolar part of the jaw was not damaged.
If we assume a deeper penetration of the spearhead, then this, of course, would have resulted in a completely different form of wound, which would have affected, first of all, the entrance hole of the wound – it would have to be wider.
The deep penetration of the wide blade of the spear should have knocked off not only the lower teeth, but also injured both the upper teeth and the palate.
At the same time, this should have caused a very serious injury to the tongue and hyoid muscles, whereas it is quite obvious that there are no traces of atrophy on the lower jaw as a result of such a deep injury; the mental spine is clearly defined, and the attachment points of the hyoid muscles are equally clearly defined.
According to anthropological characteristics, the skull from ‘Sirko’ is certainly Europeoid, sharply dolichocephalic, with a wide forehead, a high and wide face…
Comparing this documentary portrait with the known images of Scythians on the Chertomlyk vase, the Kuleba and Voronezh vessels, and on the Solokha Comb, it should be noted that all these images ultimately show the same typical ethnic features, very close to the reconstructed portrait.
There is no doubt that the differences in these images should be attributed primarily to some element of stylization, common in any, even realistic, form of art. The portrait of the Scythian from ‘Sirko’ can be considered a typical representative of the Scythians of the Black Sea steppes.”
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