a visible impact of the local population, in the Volga region of Finnic and ancient Turkic, in Ukraine of Sarmatian-Alans, and in Moldova of Slavic people. The comparative analysis showed large morphological proximity between the medieval and modern population of the Volga region. The examined graves in Northern Bulgaria and Southern Romania showed different somatic types, including Caucasoid-Mediterranean and less often East Asian. The pre-Christian burial customs in Bulgaria indicate diverse social, i.e. nomadic and sedentary, and cultural influences. In some necropolises specific to the Danube Bulgars, artificial deformation was found in 80% of the skulls. The Bulgars had a special type of shamanic "medicine-men" who performed trepanations of the skull, usually near the sagittal suture. This practice had a medical application, as well as a symbolic purpose; in two cases the patient had brain problems. According to Maenchen-Helfen and Rashev, the artificial deformation of skulls, and other types of burial artifacts in Bulgars graves, are similar to those of the Sarmatians, and Sarmatized Turks or Turkicized Sarmatians of the post-Hunnic graves in the Ukrainian steppe. Legacy In modern ethnic nationalism there is some "rivalry for the Bulgar legacy" (see Bulgarism). The Volga Tatars and Chuvash people, are said to be descended from the Volga Bulgars, and there may have been ethnogenic influences on the Bashkirs, Karachays and Balkars also. See also Bulgar calendar Bulgar language Eurasian nomads History of Bulgaria Oghur languages Turkic migration Turkic tribal confederations Volga Bulgaria Citations General and cited sources Further reading Karatay, Osman. "The Bulgars in Transoxiana: Some Inferences from Early Islamic Sources." Migracijske i etničke teme 1–2 (2009): 69–88. External links Bulgars—Encyclopædia Britannica Online Arrival of the Bulgars—Encyclopædia Britannica Online'' Extinct Turkic peoples History of Ural Medieval Bulgaria Migration Period Moldova in the Early Middle Ages Romania in the Early Middle Ages Saltovo-Mayaki culture Turkic peoples of Europe