ИСТИНА

This research aims at studying the influence of ecological factors on the maturation rates of hand and wrist bones of children and adolescents. It is based on the radiographs of the left hands, collected in the course of the expeditions of the Institute and Museum of Anthropology through 1964-2013 periods in 19 ethno-territorial child groups, aged 8-17 years, and the total number is 6456 individuals. The Tanner-Whitehouse method (TW-2) is used to determine skeletal maturation. As to the European part of the former USSR the highest rates of skeletal maturation belong to the rural school children of Arkhangelsk region and Karelians of Olonetski region with the exceeding of skeletal age compared to chronological almost through the whole age interval. In the groups of Russian of Yaroslavl region and Belorussian the skeletal age falls behind chronological, which is stronger manifested in Belorussian girls from longevity population (over 0.5 years). Maturation rates of hand skeleton of Chuvash and Bashkir are close to each other and 0.25 years lower than British standard. Significant changes of maturation rates of the hand and wrist bones through 25 years occurred in Abkhazia. The recurring results of skeletal age of Abkhazian children in 2004 showed significant acceleration of maturation rates in the long-lived population of the Abkhazian. The changes are more evident in the population of the Ochamchiry region as compared to Gudauta region. The differences between longevity population of Chlow with the delayed rates of physical development and the control group from Duripsh, marked at the 1970th -1980th joint, almost smoothed. Concerning child groups from Central Asia, Khalkha-Mongol and Tuvinian have the slowest maturation rate of hand skeleton, 0.8 years less than British standard. Altaian and Stolypin migrants descendants are characterized by accelerated rate of physical development and high maturation rates of hand skeleton (0.4 years above the standard). In the Middle Asian region the highest maturation rates belong to the Turkmen urban school children from Chardzhev, the slowest maturation rate in this region is in rural Tajik children from Varukh. Growth and maturation rates depend on abundant environmental factors that are climatic, geographic and social. Differences of skeletal maturation in the observed groups may be interpreted in the context of maintaining (Khalkha-Mongol, Tuvinian, and Tajik) or transformation (Turkmen, Chuvash, Bashkir, Altaian, Russian) of the traditional way of life. Social stress, connected with the military operations, caused acceleration of maturation rates in longevity group of the Abkhazian. Longevity populations are traditionally characterized by the low rates of growth and development (Abkhazian till 1991, Belorussian). Keywords: skeletal age, TW-2, maturation rate, human ecology