2 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL. MUSEUM. vol. 63. 



used in its production now form part of the National Museum col- 

 lections and may be remeasured. 



The desirability of publishing a catalogue of the crania in the 

 National Museum has long been felt by the writer, especially during 

 the last few years, when time and again serious errors have been 

 encountered in the writings of foreign authors dealing with American 

 anthropology, obviously due to the fact that these authors lacked 

 sufficient records on American skeletal material. In the course of 

 years, also, there have accumulated many series of measurements for 

 which individually there was and is little chance of publication. 



Certain practical difficulties in the way of the undertaking delayed 

 its execution. In the first place it was necessary to consider the cost 

 of the work and the chances of its publication; in the second, a 

 decision had to be made as to the most serviceable fonn. 



In consultation on this subject with Dr. L. Stejneger, head of the 

 publication committee of the Smithsonian Institution, at the begin- 

 ning of the curi'ent year, it was thought best that the measurements, 

 reduced to what would be of the greatest need and help to others, 

 should be published — not as a large and costly volume, the prepara- 

 tion of which would be a work of long duration, but rather in a serial 

 form, printing the separate parts as soon as ready and covering one 

 ethnic group of this continent after another and then the remainder 

 of the collections. It was self-evident that if the catalogue was to 

 be of real utility the measurements should be published in detailed 

 form, for in such a form they best show the individual variation; 

 they can be used in different ways by different students according 

 to their needs; and they may be added to in the future when further 

 collections from the same tribes or regions may become available. 



It was some months after this that a strong letter, urging publi- 

 cation of the essential data on our collections, was received by the 

 Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution from Prof. Koland B. 

 Dixon, of Harvard, who, engaged on a book dealing with American 

 anthropology, found great difficulty in obtaining sufficient data on 

 American cranial material. The final result of this and the writer's 

 recommendations was that the preparation and printing of the cata- 

 logue in serial form was authorized by the Institution. 



The catalogue will bo published as parts of the Proceedings of the 

 United States National Museum. Each part will be published and 

 distributed as a separate, and it is expected at least one of these 

 separates will appear each year. 



The arrangement of the catalogue will in the main be geographical, 

 beginning with the northernmost parts of North America and pro- 

 ceeding southward, but due attention will be paid to already estab- 

 lished groupings. The sex and other important determinations have 

 been made by the writer. The measurements are largely his, partly 



