148 Transactions. — Zoology. 



Art. XI. — Observations on some "peculiar Maori Remains, 

 with Remarks on the Ancient Institution of Tapu. 



By Sir Walter L. Buller, K.C.M.G., D.Sc, F.K.S. 



[Read before the Wellington Philosophical Society, 28th November, 1894.] 



I have the pleasure of exhibiting this evening for your in- 

 spection two somewhat remarkable specimens of Maori re- 

 mains, respecting each of which I will offer one or two 

 observations. 



The first of these is a portion of a cranium of extraordinary 

 thickness, exceeding even that of the Chatham Island Moriori, 

 of which an example drawn from the collection in the Colonial 

 Museum is now on the table. The specimen is too imperfect 

 to admit of my giving many measurements. But, with a 

 minimum frontal diameter of 100mm. and an external bi- 

 orbital diameter of 113mm., it presents a maximum thickness 

 of 10mm. The maximum thickness of the same bone in the 

 Moriori is 8mm. With these specimens I exhibit a very 

 typical Maori skull from the Island of Kapiti (presumably that 

 of a Ngatitoa warrior), and also, for purposes of comparison, 

 the skull of a Mallicolo Indian from the New Hebrides Group. 

 The former has a lofty forehead and presents generally an 

 intellectual character ; whilst the latter is so depressed that 

 it appears to have no forehead at all, this extraordinary shape 

 of the head being due, it is said, to artificial pressure during 

 infancy. Adopting the formula used by Professor Scott in 

 his able paper " On the Osteology of the Maori and Moriori," 

 which appeared in our last volume of " Transactions," it may 

 be useful to give the comparative measurements of these two 

 skulls, which are as follows : — 



Stephanie diameter of the cranium 



Minimum frontal diameter 



External biorbital diameter 



Bijugal diameter 



Bizygoinatic diameter 



Glabello-occipital length 



Basi-bregmatic height 



Basi-nasal length 



Basi-alveolar length 



Nasal height 



Maximum transverse diameter 



This very thick brain-case was obtained from that " necro- 

 polis " already described by me* as existing on the small 

 wooded island in the Papaitonga Lake, and it may fairly be 



* Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. xxvi., p. 572. 



