Ai g. 1897. Observations on Papuan Crania — Dorsky. 31 



GENERAL SUMMARY. 



It may not be without interest to note in the first place that in no 

 skull was there a metopic suture, a divided malar bone, or an inter- 

 parietal bone, nor was there any sign of disease or any pathological 

 condition, unless we except that of the child's skull. Furthermore 

 there is no evidence whatever that any of the skulls have ever been 

 subjected to artificial deformation. The skulls, as a rule, are small, 

 compact and heavy. The average weight of the skull, including the 

 lower jaw, is 26 ounces for the males, and 20 ounces for the females; 

 the range being 22 to 31 ounces for the males, and 18 to 23 ounces 

 for the females, a difference between the two sexes so great and so 

 constant as to possess considerable value. The average cranial 

 capacity for the two sexes is 1,343 cc. The average for the males is 

 1.425 cc. with a range of variation from 1,275 cc. to 1,560 cc. ; the 

 average for the female is 1,262 cc, with a range of 1,060 cc. to 1,365 

 cc. An examination of the table reveals the fact that there seems to 

 be no correlation between the weight of the skull and its cranial 

 capacity. Thus, in the male series the skull with a capacity of 

 1,545 cc. weighs only 22 ounces, while the skull with a capacity of 

 1,390 cc weighs 31 ounces. Similar observations could be made 

 from the female skulls. The capacity as given above is slightly 

 greater than that given by Hovelacque and Herve for Papuans of 

 New Guinea: they give 1,350 cc for the males, and 1,250 cc for the 

 females. According to the above figures, the average sexual differ- 

 ence in the capacity is 165 cc. The skulls as a whole are micro- 

 cephalic, although only two of the male series would fall into that 

 group, the remaining ones being mesocephalic, with three in the 

 megacephalic group. But one female skull is mesocephalic. 



Norma Frontalis. — The frontal region varies considerably, natu- 

 rally, in the two sexes. In the males it is narrow, not high, and 

 generally very retreating. The female frontal region is broader and 

 slightly vertical, owing to the frequent strong development of the 

 frontal eminences. In no case, even in the females, does the frontal 

 development assume any considerable vertical height, and in two 

 at least of the females the backward inclination is more marked than 

 it is in some of the male crania. The average minimum frontal 

 width for the males is 96 mm. with a range of variation from 87 to 103 

 mm., the average for the females is 90 mm. the variation ranging 

 from 87 to 95 mm. 



The glabella is, as a general rule, strongly developed in the 



