432 



ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1052 



In viewing these figures the matter of age should be kept in mind. 

 Lincoln was 56 at the time the second mask was made. The Acade- 

 micians were older when measured; on the average, 59 years. But 

 the Old Americans in general tended to be younger. The effect of age 

 appears mainly in the dimensions of the mouth and ears, parts that 

 are not supported by bone. The result is that these features usually 

 get larger as age increases. However, age alone cannot be the cause 

 of Lincoln's relatively long ears, or of his rather wide mouth. 



Lincoln's face was large in other respects, but, as figure 1 demon- 

 strates, always well within the range of the population with which 



Total face height 

 Lower face height 

 Face breadth 

 Nose height 

 Nose breadth 

 Mouth breadth 

 Ear height, left 

 Ear breadth, left 





rfrm. 







z^rz 



I I I I I 



10 20 30 40 50 



Figure 1. — Estimated position of Lincoln's face dimensions in the ranges of the Old Ameri- 

 cans. Solid horizontal lines = Old Americans at large; interrupted lines = Old Americans 

 in National Academy of Sciences. 



he is identified. His large forehead height and face breadth across 

 the cheekbones are especially noteworthy. Perhaps, though, these 

 dimensions appear exaggerated because the face heights are slightly 

 below average. 



It is interesting to note also that whereas Lincoln's ear size is in 

 the upper part of the range of the Old Americans, his nose size, 

 and especially nose breadth, is in the lower part of this range. 



One other point should be mentioned in this connection. Nose 

 height, lower face height, and forehead height have one landmark 

 in common — so-called "nasion" at the root of the nose. The location 

 of this landmark depends upon trying to estimate the position of the 

 nasofrontal suture in the underlying skull. When the observer lo- 



