CATALOGUE OF HUMAN CRANIA IN THE UNITED STATES 

 NATIONAL MUSEUIVI COLLECTIONS. 



By Ales Hrdlicka, 



Curator, Division of Physical Anthropology. 



The collections of the Division of Physical Anthropology in the 

 United States National Museum, begun, through the instrumen- 

 tality largely of Dr. W. H. Holmes, 22 years ago by the return or 

 transfer of 2,300 crania from the Army Medical Museum, have now 

 reached such proportions that their complete scientific description 

 will take not merely years but generations. They embrace upward 

 of 10,000 crania and skeletons, besides large quantities of various 

 individual bones, and new accessions are still being received. The 

 material is well identified as to people and locality, all specimens 

 with imperfect information in these respects having been weeded out. 

 The bulk of it is American, both north and south; but there are also 

 fine series from Hawaii, Egypt, and other regions. 



It is plain that in the interests of science the principal data on this 

 important material should be placed in the hands of scientific workers 

 as soon as possible. If this can not be in full elaboration, it should 

 be done in some simpler form. What anthropology needs most are 

 ample, dependable data, which may with full confidence be used in 

 investigation. 



The simplest, most practicable, least costly way of achieving this 

 is doubtless by means of a catalogue of the essential measurements 

 of the specimens. Catalogues of a similar nature have been pub- 

 lished in England (Davis, Flower) ; in Germany (Collections of the 

 German Museum) ; in France their place is taken b}^ the monumental 

 Crania Ethnica (Quatref ages and Hamy) ; in Sweden by the Crania 

 Suecica Antiqua (Gustaf Retzius) ; and in Bohemia by the Crania 

 Bohemica (Matiegka) . 



In America we have the less comprehensive Crania Americana of 

 Morton, the Crania Mexicana of the Mission Scientifique en Mexique, 

 the Crania Americana of Rudolf Virchow, and the Otis Catalogue; 

 but all of these suflFer from small numbers or other serious imperfec- 

 tions. The Otis Catalogue especially can not be used,* but the crania 



' See Hrdlidka (A.), Physical Anthropology; Its Scope and Aims; Its History and Present Status in the 

 United States. Octavo, Philadelphia (Wistar Institute), 1919. 



No. 2480 — Proceedings U. S. National Museum, Vol. 63, Art. 12. 



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