ON THE PROBLEM OF FORMATION OF THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL COMPOSITION OF THE POPULATION OF "LOP POGOSTS" (based on craniological materials from the burial ground of the XVII - early XIX century Alozero) The article presents the results of studying the craniological series from the Alozero burial ground (XVII-early XIX centuries) - the earliest paleoanthropological materials from the territory of North Karelia. The appearance of the burial ground seems to coincide with the beginning of active settlement of this territory by Karelians. The series consists of 23 skulls (15 male and 8 female). The general craniological characteristics bring them closer to the morphological complex prevailing among the Karelian groups close to our time. At the same time, two morphological complexes are clearly distinguished in the series. The former is distinguished by the overall massiveness of the skull, combined with its extremely high arch and broad facial skeleton. This most "archaic" morphological variant, on the one hand, brings the Alozero series closer to modern groups of northwestern Karelians, on the other hand, it shows the genetic continuity of the northern Karelians and the medieval population of the Northwestern Ladoga region, and its features go back to the craniological type of Mesoneolithic inhabitants of the Baltic region. The second complex is characterized by the average height of the skull, the average width of the facial skeleton, and a high bridge of the nose. Here, the greatest similarity is shown with the groups of Finns of Finland that are close to modern times. The presence of this complex in the Alozero series is probably a consequence of the influx of migrants from the interior of Finland. It is assumed that before the Karelian development of the northern regions of Karelia, this territory was inhabited by groups related to the modern Sami. As a result of the study, no traces of "laponoid"were found in the North Karelian groups. Key words: craniology, ethnic histor ... Read more