A Hdlf-cdsto Tiismanian. 1 1 



It would therefore appear that, so far from the Tasmanian 

 beintr akin to his nearest nei<j:hbour, the Australian aborifjinal, 

 he is rather to be regarded as being closely allied, as we shall 

 noAV endeavour to show, to the much more distant Papuan of 

 New Guinea, and the adjacent islands. 



At the present day, the region of Melanesia, which includes 

 all the islands frcmi New Guinea in the west to Fiji in the east 

 is inhabited Dy the blaick Papuan, or Melanesian race, a race 

 which includes the people of New Guinea, the Bismarck Archi- 

 pelago, the Admiralty Islands, the Solomon Islands, the New 

 Hel)rides. and New Caledonia. All these people have frizzly 

 hair, and it is one of their characi eristics that the whole head 

 of iiair has much the appearance of a mop (17). It is to theve 

 people that the now extinct Tasmanian aboriginal is to be al- 

 lied, that is if the following testimony is to be relied upon: — 



That Prichard (10) held this view as to the identity of the 

 Tasmanian with the Papuan is obvious, for his statement is ais 

 follows : — 



'■ From the southern extremity of New Britain and New Ire- 

 land, tribes of Pelagian negroes are spread along the chains of 

 liOuisiade and Solomon Isles to Santa Cruz, and thence still 

 farther to several of the New Hebrides and to New Caledonia. 

 . . . . Lastly, the Tasmanians .... are decidedly of 

 the Pelagian negro stock.'' 



Garson sums up this question admirably in the osteological 

 chapter already referred to (12), for he therein aays : — ■ 



" In some respects, the Tasmanians resemble very closely the 

 Negrito race, not only in the character of their hair, but in some 

 of their osteological characters. Their relationship to the Poly- 

 nesians, though suggested, has not received much support. The 

 Melanesian race has, by man}' persons, been claimed as that to 

 which the Tasmanians are most nearly allied, and many of their 



physical characters support this hypothesis From 



the osteological characters and those of the hair, skin, etc., it 

 appears as if the Tasmanians were most allied to the Negrito 

 and Melanesian types. In ivny case, the Tasmanians have re- 

 mained for a long period isolated from other races, ais evidenced 

 by the uniformity of their osteological characters. 



It may seem somewhat difticult to relate the Tasmanians to 

 the two races just mimed, so far separated under the })resent 



