This study examines the relationship between facial morphology and socioeconomic status within an Early Mediaeval population from the Mikulčice settlement. The agglomeration was the centre of the Great Moravian Empire in Central Europe and had a hierarchically structured society. The settlement can be divided on the basis of two criteria that possibly reflect socioeconomic classes: grave location (castle and sub-castle area) and grave goods (individuals with or without luxury grave goods). As study material, we utilized CT images of adult skulls. We divided the facial skeleton into two morphological regions: the upper face (49 males and 45 females) and the mandible (47 males and 41 females), which were investigated by landmark-based methods of geometric morphometrics. The results suggest that the population was highly stratified and that both of the criteria could reflect different genetic backgrounds, lifestyles or environmental conditions. Significant differences in upper face morphology were found between individuals with or without luxury grave goods, and significant differences in mandibular morphology between individuals buried in the castle and sub-castle areas. Although the morphology of the facial skeleton has a multi-etiological nature and all its parts are influenced by a complex of internal and external factors, upper face morphology based on grave goods may be more influenced by genetic variability between the study groups in the context of patrilocality and patrilineality, which were conventional practices in Early Mediaeval societies. On the other hand, mandibular morphology may be more influenced by external conditions (probably by a different diet).

这项研究检查了米库尔采采（Mikulčice）居住区的中世纪早期人口中面部形态与社会经济地位之间的关系。该集聚区是中欧大摩拉维亚帝国的中心，拥有等级结构的社会。可以根据可能反映社会经济等级的两个标准对定居点进行划分：坟墓位置（城堡和次城堡地区）和坟墓物品（有或没有豪华坟墓物品的个人）。作为研究材料，我们利用了成人头骨的CT图像。我们将面部骨骼分为两个形态区域：上脸（男49例，女45例）和下颌骨（男47例，女41例），这是通过基于地标的几何形态学方法进行研究的。结果表明该人群高度分层，并且这两个标准都可以反映不同的遗传背景，生活方式或环境条件。发现有或没有豪华坟墓的人之间的上脸形态有显着差异，埋在城堡和次城堡地区的人之间的下颌形态有显着差异。尽管面部骨骼的形态具有多种病因学性质，并且其各个部分都受复杂的内外部因素的影响，但在严重的背景下，研究组之间的遗传变异可能会更多地影响基于坟墓物品的上脸形态。父权制和父系制，这是中世纪早期社会的传统习俗。另一方面，