364 Sir R. Schomburgk on the Natives of Guiana. 



nent, and not falling back. In the Chiquitos the same cha- 

 r'acter is exaggerated, and the head is nearly circular, while 

 in the Moxos it is more oblong : this last form is very nearly 

 that of the Guarani or Paraguay Indians."* Dr Prichard also 

 cites the observation by Dr Morton, ♦ that the heads of the 

 Caribs, as well of the Antillas as of Terra Firma, are natu- 

 rally rounded.' "f 



" The skulls of the Indians, which Sir Robert Schomburgk 

 has done me the honour to submit to my examination, include 

 specimens of the Carib, of continental South America, of the 

 Taruma, the Wapisiana, the Arawaak, and the Macusi In- 

 dians, all natives of Guiana, and belonging to the Caribee 

 division of the great Basilio-guarani group of M. D'Orbigny's 

 classification of the South American Aborigines." 



" The tribe which still retains the name of ' Carib' in Guiana, 

 has long ceased the practice of artificially flattening the head, 

 which characterised the Caribs inhabiting the neighbouring 

 Caribean Islands. The skull of the individual of the con- 

 tinental tribe, a female, is ovate, viewed from above : the 

 occiput is not flattened as in the Peruvian and Californian In- 

 dians, but is moderately prominent, rounded, and rather nar- 

 row. The forehead is narrow, and slopes with a gentle curve 

 directly from the interorbital space, which is more promi- 

 nent than the superciliary ridges, and has no medium verti- 

 cal impression. The alee of the sphenoid present a margin of 

 half an inch in length to join the parietal. The cheek-bones 

 and lower border of the orbit are moderately prominent. 

 The nasal bones are continued with a very slight depression 

 from the interorbital prominence. The superior maxillary 

 bones are slightly protruded. The lower border of the malar 

 process of the maxillary bone is slightly concave. The lower 

 border of the orbit is a little more concave than the upper 

 one : the spheno-orbital fissure widely open anteriorly. The 

 length of the skull is 6] inches : its greatest breadth 5| : its 

 height from the vertex to the lined margin of the foramen 

 magnum 5 inches." 



" Of the three skulls of the Taruma Indians, all of which are 



* Uistory of Man, 8vo., 1843. f lb., p. 364. 



